ALBANY, NY – Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski) was joined by New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino and members of the Assembly Republican Conference to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to convene a special session of the Legislature to address the ongoing migrant crisis. The officials were joined by local leaders in College Point, Queens at the former St. Agnes Academic High School, a former Catholic high school that has been converted into a shelter for illegal migrants.
“This a crisis that was created and exacerbated by Democrats, and they have allowed it to spiral out of control,” Leader Barclay said. “Transparency, leadership, communication and preparation have all been lacking since the outset. How much more chaos are we going to allow? The Biden White House has turned its back on New York. It’s time the state Legislature returns to Albany and puts guidelines in place before a bad situation gets even worse.”
“From Staten Island to Whitestone, communities across New York City are standing up to say enough is enough when it comes to this out-of-control migrant crisis” said Assemblyman Mike Reilly (R,C-Staten Island). “New Yorkers should not be forced to shoulder this crisis, and I’m once again calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams to find the courage necessary to demand action from President Biden at the U.S. southern border – that’s where this crisis began and that is where it must end.”
“I want to sincerely thank the Republican assembly delegation for standing with me at the St. Agnes migrant shelter in District 19 this afternoon, where I joined Assemblyman Will Barclay and members of the Minority Conference to demand Governor Hochul call a special session of the legislature to address the growing illegal migrant crisis. This crisis has far exceeded the city’s capabilities and asking the federal government for money has clearly fallen flat. It’s time our state officials join the conversation in a substantial way. Protecting this district is my top priority, and neighborhoods like College Point are drowning from bad policy. It’s abundantly clear that Republican leadership like ours has stepped up with solutions where Democrats have failed,” said New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino.
“Our constituents have been failed by all three levels of government: federal, state and city. It is extremely frustrating to see all three pointing fingers at each other instead of sitting down to come up with a feasible long-term solution. Instead of pointing fingers elsewhere, the federal government can start by securing the border. Both our state and city governments have also failed our constituents by not having an actual plan to address this crisis and continuing to open migrant shelters in locations that could potentially compromise local communities. Furthermore, City Hall is not interested in any type of input from local elected officials or even giving them notice before opening these shelters,” said Assemblyman Mike Tannousis (R,C-Staten Island/Brooklyn).
“New York is struggling to keep up with the recent surge of migrants in our city and across the state. We have seen more than 100,000 migrants come into our state and we don’t have the resources or funding needed to address this issue properly. Governor Hochul must convene a special session of the Legislature so that we can find solutions and give support to the communities that need it the most,” said Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny (R,C-Coney Island).
“This ongoing migrant crisis has reached a critical level and doing nothing is not an option, it is not fair to either the migrants or the people of New York. That is why I, along with my Republican colleagues, am urging the governor to do the responsible thing and call for a special session of the Legislature to address this issue,” said Assemblyman Lester Chang (R,C-Brooklyn).
“This state is in dire need of assistance – we have thousands of migrants living on city streets, in schools, hotels or wherever else Mayor Eric Adams can put them. Adams, Gov. Hochul and the Biden Administration have let this situation spiral into the disaster it is now, and they’ve let New Yorkers take the fall. The lack of accountability by Albany Democrats is evident – it’s time for them to finally own up to and fix their self-inflicted mess. Having a special session is not a request, it is a necessity; our state is in shambles, and we need to fix it before more businesses, families or communities get hurt,” said Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R,C-Staten Island).
On Friday, members of the Assembly and Senate Republican Conferences wrote to Gov. Hochul urging her to bring legislators back to Albany in order to consider a host of proposals aimed at protecting taxpayers and communities. Assembly Republicans have introduced measures to increase transparency and oversight on spending, require background checks for asylum seekers and prohibit local schools from being transformed into shelters. Some of these measures include:
- Require the state comptroller to examine and audit state and federal funds received and appropriated for humanitarian aid in New York City or any municipality (A.7508, Ra);
- Require New York state to register all migrants in order to assist with background checks and monitoring refugees seeking asylum (A.7319-A, Slater);
- Protect counties and municipalities from “Right to Shelter” confusion by requiring local governing bodies in New York state to opt-in to accept migrants from other jurisdictions;
- Ensure funding is not used to shelter migrants in schools, daycare centers or community-based organizations;
- Reverse the Executive Order of 2017 prohibiting law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end New York’s status as an illegal immigration sanctuary;
- Adopt a resolution calling on the federal government to provide financial assistance to the state and properly address the border crisis it created.
More than 100,000 migrants have been transported to New York over the past year. New York state has allocated $1.5 billion to New York City for the costs of providing services. The New York City mayor estimates those costs over the next three years could eclipse $12 billion. Under the state of emergency declared by the governor, the Hochul Administration is allowed to spend public money without typical oversight protocols in place.
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