New York business leaders send letter urging President Biden to send help in asylum seeker crisis
NEW YORK -- Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden and members of Congress to help New York deal with tens of thousands of asylum seekers.
A coalition of some of New York's top business leaders is imploring federal officials to step up and deal with a problem that's "overwhelming" local resources.
More than 100 business executives representing almost every sector of New York's economy, including communications, finance, real estate, sports, insurance, law firms and power companies, are throwing their weight behind Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams in begging for help.
"This crisis originated with the federal government and it must be resolved through the federal government," Hochul said last week, but it apparently fell on deaf ears in Washington.
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Instead of the desperately-needed help in coping with more than 104,000 asylum seekers that arrived in New York City, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sent letters to Hochul and Adams complaining of structural and operational issues in the way the state is dealing with the influx.
Now major business leaders, the kind of people who contribute heavily to political campaigns, are joining the fight and urging Mr. Biden and leaders in Congress to help defray some of the estimated $12 billion tab choking the city.
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They also want the feds to expedite work permits so asylum seekers and get jobs and become self-supporting.
"Bipartisan action by Congress and the Administration is ultimately the way to resolve immigration issues, but that will take time," the business leaders said. "In the interim, we urge you to take immediate action to better control the border and the process of asylum and provide relief to the cities and states that are bearing the burdens posed by the influx of asylum seekers."
Mayorkas pointedly told Adams and Hochul that the agency has identified 11 federal sites throughout New York state that can house asylum seekers, but that just exacerbated tensions between the two top Democrats.
Hochul has resisted Adams' pleas to move asylum seekers to locations outside the five boroughs.