More buses filled with hundreds of migrants continue to arrive in New York City. Mayor Eric Adams says the city has passed its breaking point, adding there's no more space to house asylum seekers, and the city is running out of funds.
Adams says the migrant crisis could soon cost the city some $12 billion. Those are estimates over the course of three fiscal years. So far, the city has spent over $5.5 billion in the current fiscal year.
"The city is running out of money, appropriate space and personnel to care for families," said Adams.
He called the migrant crisis in the city, "an unprecedented state of emergency."
"The immigration system in this nation is broken. It has been broken for decades. Today, New York City has been left to pick up the pieces," added Adams.
Since the spring of last year, almost 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple. Mayor Adams said the city currently houses 57,300 individuals.
"They do not have the authorization to work, so we have to provide shelter," said the mayor.
Right now, the city is spending an average of $383 per night per asylum seeker household. This means the city is spending $300 million per month, which comes out to $3.6 billion a year.
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"Our city is already facing a severe housing shortage on top of trying to find space for our new arrivals. We have repeatedly asked state lawmakers to assist in building more affordable homes, but they have been unable to pass any meaningful legislation," said Adams.
The mayor also addressed the situation at the Roosevelt Hotel last week. He said dozens of migrants slept outside the hotel because the shelter system was too full to house them.
"The scenes outside the Roosevelt might become more common if we don't get the support we need," said Adams.
The city plans to build tents on soccer fields on Manhattan's Randalls Island to shelter newly arrived migrants.
It's the same location where the city built a similar shelter last year — a $16 million project that was shut down just weeks later due to lack of use. The mayor is pleading for the federal government to declare the situation a state of emergency.
"We have had productive conversations with our state and federal partners, and they show real commitment to support in our efforts, but we need additional resources now," added Adams.
The city says the migrant population could double in coming years, with more than 100,000 asylum seekers in the city's homeless shelter system by 2025.
Scripps News was able to confirm that eight buses with migrants arrived in the city since Monday — two more are expected Wednesday night. The vast majority of the migrants are coming from Texas.
Mayor Adams said the federal government is sending a team to assess the migrant housing crisis in the city.
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