New York City officials have so far failed to open a shelter in Manhattan they had hoped to have operating two weeks ago in order to take care of recent migrants that Texas has sent by bus to the Big Apple, the New York Post reported Sunday.
New York's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) told the Post its initial plan to operate an intake and processing center for the migrants from Texas next to a 600-room shelter at a hotel in Midtown is no longer viable, explaining only they have managed to choose a finalist to operate a Manhattan facility without stating the contractor's name or where it will be located.
DHS also acknowledged it has not chosen and rented any of the 5,000 hotel rooms it is seeking to house migrants across New York City.
The temporary solution officials are using is, in the meantime, to co-mingle migrants with New Yorkers in the city's existing shelter system. Although officials have refused to say how much the city is spending on housing migrants in this way, a New York Post study found it could be more than $300 million.
In addition, NYC officials have been struggling to find solutions for healthcare for the migrants, as well as schooling for their children, CBC reported.
Some 6,000 migrants have sought shelter with the city since May, including many sent by bus from Texas by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a protest against the Biden administration's immigration policies, according to the Post.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has not received any extra help to deal with the matter, despite his appeals to the White House and United States Conference of Mayors for assistance.
DHS spokeswoman Neha Sharma told The Post that "we are working at an extraordinary speed to bring emergency capacity online while doing everything we can to comprehensively address the unique needs of recently arrived asylum seekers who are coming to us in their greatest hour of need."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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