NEW YORK, CMC – New York City Mayor Eric Adam has announced the placement of two new Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, as the number of Caribbean and other asylum seekers in the city’s care surpasses 52,000.
The city said many asylum seekers from the United States’ southern border are Cubans, Haitians, and Venezuelans.
Adams said the new humanitarian relief center will serve more than 330 families with children seeking asylum and that another emergency respite site will support an estimated 1,400 adults in the coming weeks.
“New York City continues to receive thousands of asylum seekers each week, and we continue to do everything in our power to respond accordingly, but we are still in dire need of assistance from our state and federal partners,” he said.
“The transition of these two emergency respite sites to humanitarian relief centers will provide, when combined, thousands of individuals with a range of services and help them reach their final destinations. New York City is doing more than any other city or state to respond to this crisis, but we need others to step up and do their part,” Adams added.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Anne Williams-Isom, said these two new sites will enable the city to serve hundreds of families with children and adults as they settle in New York City or move to their final destination.
“As we respond to this humanitarian crisis, we again call on the federal government to advance work authorizations for people seeking asylum and for the federal government to lead this humanitarian crisis with a national coordination strategy.”
The Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Philip Banks III, said navigating this crisis requires tremendous resources and creativity.
“Despite the city’s challenges, we have continued to do what’s right and open new humanitarian relief centers as needed to ensure asylum seekers’ health and safety.”
Since this humanitarian crisis began, Adam said the city has taken “fast and urgent action,” opening about 180 emergency shelters, including 12 other large-scale humanitarian relief centers.
Earlier, the city released “The Road Forward: A Blueprint to Address New York City’s Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis,” detailing how the city will continue to manage the influx of asylum seekers and advocate for support from federal and state partners.
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