New York City Council member Shahana Hanif criticizes city's response to asylum seekers crisis
NEW YORK -- The New York City Council is blasting Mayor Eric Adams' response to the ongoing asylum seekers crisis.
The city has welcomed more than 60,000 asylum seekers in the past year and more than 37,000 currently remain in the city's care.
During a budget hearing on immigration Wednesday morning, Council Member Shahana Hanif said lack of sufficient federal funding does not excuse the ways in which the city has housed asylum seekers.
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"Now that we are over a year into the situation, we must be building the long-term infrastructure needed to help recent arrivals succeed. It has been embarrassing to read in recent headlines that the administration is scrambling to find viable options. This is not where we should be today," she said.
The city has repeatedly asked for more federal funding.
New York has received only $30 million to house asylum seekers.