Mayor Eric Adams has called it a humanitarian crisis that “could destroy New York City.”
New York City:
The ‘American dream’ has caused a major crisis in New York. The search for a better life and more opportunities is driving thousands of immigrants to the Big Apple. But at what price? A housing crisis and a major burden on the administration.
New York City has received 118,000 migrants since last year, with more than 60,000 in the city’s shelter system. But officials are struggling to meet their needs.
Mayor Eric Adams has called it a humanitarian crisis that “could destroy New York City.”
Most migrants came to New York from countries in South America and West Africa in hopes of safety, work and stability. But integrating them into a new city is not an easy task – for both the migrants and the government.
The migrants are usually housed in hotels, office buildings and gyms. The city government paid for cheap hotels to house them, but housing options are now almost non-existent.
The influx of migrants could cost $12 billion over three years, claims Mayor Adams, who has previously looked at housing migrants in parking lots and on cruise ships.
Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have both blamed Joe Biden’s administration for failing to provide sufficient support for the migrant crisis.
New Yorkers, aware of the acute crisis, are seeking a humanitarian approach to the issue and a strategic allocation of resources.
“I’m not sure New York is a good place for someone who wants to start over. There’s a huge housing crisis, so maybe it’s not the perfect place for immigrants,” said one woman, an immigrant herself.
Some others think the “American dream” is turning out to be a “nightmare,” but much can still be done to help them.
“It’s a crisis even for the people who migrate to New York. They come from horrible places and turn to opportunity – just like the American dream of so many years ago. The American dream is actually an American nightmare. New York has very limited space, but also a lot of fun space. If we allocate some of those places to help the migrants, that would be great,” said one New Yorker.
In addition to housing, migrants also experience difficulties in finding work. Before they can officially start working, they must obtain a work permit. It can take up to six months to process. Without a permit, they can only work as undocumented workers, who are often overworked and underpaid.
