Hochul Wants to Spend 2.4 billion on Migrant Crisis

Photo byThe White House, Public domain

In response to the large surge of migrants overrunning New York City's homeless shelters, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated on Tuesday that she wants to spend $2.4 billion on the crisis. The plan includes:

- $1 billion to reimburse migrant-related expenses;

- $500 million to cover state-funded services like national guard presence and healthcare; and

- $400 million to support congregate shelters, such as the one at Floyd Bennett Field.

"New York continues to carry the burden of sheltering more than 69,000 migrants," said Hochul. "Since Day 1, I have said this is ultimately the responsibility of the federal government to address this crisis. Congress - the House of Representatives in particular - and the White House must remain at the negotiating table until they restore the rule of law at our border, fix our asylum system, and provide relief to states like New York, who have been shouldering this burden for far too long."

The governor says this can be accomplished without any tax increase for New York residents.

“All of this can and must be accomplished without raising the income taxes on New Yorkers any further. So we need to slow down the out-migration that has resulted in the loss of $6 billion in tax receipts this year alone. We could have used that money,” Hochul said during her Albany address.

The $2.4 billion designated for migrants, according to Hochul's plan, would fund larger-scale emergency housing centers that have been established to handle the flow of asylum seekers as well as health care and short-term shelter services.

“We’re doing this not just because it’s the right thing to do for the migrants and for the city of New York," Hochul said at the state Capitol. “We also know that companies won’t do business in New York if there are thousands of people sleeping on the streets, or the quality of life is dramatically impacted because the city is forced to cut essential services."