New York City will soon close more than 50 migrant shelters, including the notorious shelter at the Roosevelt Hotel, now that the influx of migrants flowing into the city has slowed to a trickle.
At a press conference on Monday, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the future closing of 53 sites and all tent shelters in the city. He attributed the closures to “the successful strategies we put in place here in New York City and because of policies we advocated for at the border.”
The closure that has drawn most attention is the migrant shelter at the storied Roosevelt Hotel, located near Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The iconic hotel closed in December 2020 after tourism in the city cratered due to COVID-related government restrictions. Then in May 2023, it reopened as an arrival center and shelter for the hordes of migrants moving into the city as the result of the porous southern border under the Biden administration.
Dubbed “the new Ellis Island,” the hotel has served approximately 173,000 migrants in the months since. At its peak in July 2023, hundreds of male migrants even slept outside after the hotel ran out of bed space.
With the surge of migrants also came reports of an uptick in crime, especially smash-and-grab robberies in Times Square. The brutal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua even reportedly managed to infiltrate the shelter, increasing concerns about safety.
However, the waves of migrants have slowed considerably. In May 2023, the city had to absorb about 4,000 new arrivals each week, causing the migrant population in NYC to swell to 69,000 by January 2024. Now under the Trump administration, that weekly total has slowed to just 350, and the total migrant population has dwindled to 45,000.
The Roosevelt shelter is expected to close in June, according to Adams. It currently houses about 2,850 migrants.
‘We’re not done caring for those who came into our care.’
Adams appears encouraged by the progress, claiming that the city has crossed another “milestone” in addressing the migrant crisis. However, he hesitated to declare the crisis “over” and cautioned that the city still has a ways to go. “I don’t want to say ‘mission accomplished’ before we’ve accomplished the mission,” he said.
“We’re not done caring for those who came into our care,” Adams continued.
Though Adams seems to be on board with Trump’s efforts to curb illegal immigration, he has publicly kept some distance from the new administration as accusations of a quid pro quo between Adams and Trump continue to swirl.
For instance, just last Friday, Adams sued the Trump administration for $80 million in migrant funding the federal government allegedly took back from the city recently. “I believe we deserve that $80 million,” Adams said, claiming that Congress had already authorized the money.
After the Trump DOJ moved to dismiss the federal charges filed against Adams, critics suggested that Trump and Adams came to an agreement of sorts, whereby Trump would make Adams’ legal troubles go away in exchange for cooperation on immigration. Both the DOJ and the mayor’s office have denied the allegations.
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Nyc, New york city, Eric adams, Migrant crisis, Immigration crisis, Southern border, Migrant shelter, Roosevelt hotel, Politics
