NYC leaders say they need support for asylum seekers with Title 42 restrictions set to expire
NEW YORK -- A policy meant to deter migrants expires on Wednesday and its fate is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.
This as CBS2 has learned New York will be getting hundreds of millions of dollars for the migrant crisis.
The money is said to be a substantial chunk of the some $800 million targeted by the feds for the migrant crisis. It was negotiated by Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and it can't come soon enough.
"Let's get these people to work. Let's give them an opportunity. Let's process them. They are asylum seekers," Rep. Adriano Espaillat said.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the news on Twitter.
Thank you to @SenSchumer, @RepJeffries and our New York City delegation for fighting for our city’s fair share of funding for asylum seekers. This work hasn’t been easy, and there’s more to do, but every bit helps address this crisis.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) December 20, 2022
The move comes as New York is expecting even more migrants after Title 42 expires. The policy was put in place under former President Donald Trump. It let the U.S. expel hundreds of thousands of migrants on public health concerns during the pandemic.
"We have had over 30,000 asylum seekers arrive, 20,000 are still in our shelter system," Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said.
Levine says things will get more overcrowded.
"Yesterday, we got four buses, over 200 individuals. It could be a thousand a day arriving and that is going to require really dramatic measures," Levine said.
On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked Title 42 from ending.
On Tuesday, the City Council held its second day of hearings on the migrant crisis.
"Homelessness is a trauma, make no mistake, but this type of of homelessness is a trauma on a different level," former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.
READ MORE: New York City bracing for influx of migrants if Title 42 is allowed to expire
Quinn now runs WIN, or Women in Need, which houses 14% of all homeless families in New York City. She said word of a second suicide by an asylum seeker in a shelter exposes the need for greater services.
"If we don't have mental health services at a very high and sophisticated level, these families will begin to lose hope," Quinn said.
The Biden administration has until Tuesday evening to respond to Justice John Roberts' decision to, at least temporarily, keep Title 42 in place. The Department of Homeland Security said it will be ready to respond to any new order from the high court.