They are not enough. There are not enough clothes, food or metro cards. They don’t have the attorneys to handle their cases or the people to help them with employment or training to work in construction.
Weeks following thousands of immigrants began arriving in New York on buses sent by the states of Texas and Arizona, local aid groups said Friday that their ability to help the new arrivals is stretched thin and that they need assistance from the government of the President Joe Biden and the State and City of New York.
Lawyers “can’t do this anymore without more support from our elected officials,” said Camille Mackler, executive director of the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative, a nonprofit group of immigration lawyers, during a news conference in front of the New York City Hall.
In recent months, nearly 8,000 migrants have arrived in Washington and New York on bus trips sponsored by southern states – in addition to migrants arriving by their own means – thus straining the resources and humanitarian services of both northern cities. . Many of the new arrivals are Venezuelan.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who favors laws limiting immigrant arrivals, began sending the buses to Washington in April on the grounds that Democratic northern states might take care of the newcomers. Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona did the same in May. Abbott recently began shipping buses directly to New York.
Travel is now a point of tension between Republican governors and Democratic mayors Eric Adams of New York and Muriel Bowser of Washington, two more immigrant-friendly cities.
Emily Prado, from the migrant aid group La Colmena, said that in the last two weeks she has seen regarding 100 immigrants ask the organization for help, when the normal would be to receive regarding 50.
“We are very close to the limit,” he said at the press conference. Prado explained that the waiting lists for La Colmena to receive free training for construction jobs are now very long.
Aid groups are asking for at least $10 million from the state and another $10 million from the city so that the new arrivals can be offered housing and immigration attorneys. They also called for more coordination and involvement on this issue by the federal government.
Several of the activists said that New York is a city that welcomes immigrants and that it is the responsibility of New York authorities and aid groups to support newcomers.
The arrival of so many foreigners caught New York off guard, as its homeless shelters quickly filled and aid groups worked tirelessly to assist immigrants. The city has sent staff to the main bus station, the Port Authority, to greet arriving buses loaded with migrants.
A voluntary consent form for free transportation from Texas tells migrants that Washington is where the president and members of Congress are and that they “can more immediately help address the needs of migrants who have entered the country.” ”.
Migrants who sign a consent form for a free ride to New York are told that the city has designated itself a “sanctuary” for migrants, who are provided with food and shelter.
In the last two months, the procession of Venezuelans seeking refuge in the United States has grown dramatically. In July, Border Patrol agents apprehended Venezuelans 17,603 times, 34% more than in June and nearly triple the number in July 2021.
