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City Hall offers conflicting counts on Venezuelan migrants eligible for work
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 27, 2023
Modified Sep 28, 2023
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By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 27, 2023
Modified Sep 28, 2023
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New York City officials are offering conflicting counts on the number of Venezuelan migrants eligible for work permits, renewing questions about how the city is processing and surveying the more than 60,000 migrants currently in its shelter system.
During a briefing at City Hall on Wednesday, administration officials said 22,000 Venezuelan migrants in the city’s shelter system would be covered under temporary protection status, a designation announced by President Joe Biden last week that would offer them the opportunity to stay and work in the country legally. But that number was more than twice the figure Mayor Eric Adams gave reporters last week, when he said roughly 9,500 Venezuelan migrants in the city’s shelter system would be affected.
It was the third revised Venezuelan migrant count city officials have provided within the span of a week. Since the start of the crisis, City Hall has faced questions surrounding its counting of migrants and why it has not released more detailed reporting to the public.
That scrutiny has intensified in recent weeks as state and federal officials have raised concerns about the city’s data collection and efforts to provide migrants with legal services so that they may apply for asylum before their one-year deadline passes.
The city’s ability to accurately count and process migrants is critical to helping them apply for legal status so that they may eventually exit the shelter system.
Following Wednesday’s briefing, Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for the mayor, said Dr. Ted Long, a senior official with the city’s public hospitals who cited the 22,000 figure, had misspoken.
She said Long was counting the total number of Venezuelans in the city’s care, not the number who have arrived before July 31, 2023, and would be eligible to apply immediately for work permits.
Long is spearheading an effort to capture an accurate census of migrants, something advocates have long asked City Hall to provide.
Mamelak insisted that the mayor had provided the correct estimate last week.
But even Adams has been unclear on migrant estimates. Immediately after Biden’s announcement, he said the new immigration status that the president conferred would help 15,000 Venezuelan migrants.
The mayor sought to clarify that number with reporters on the following day. He directed Fabien Levy, his deputy mayor for communications, to write the breakdown down on a large white board so that there would be no misunderstanding.
“Out of the 15,000, 5,500 can't work in the city because they're under the age that they can, or they're under 18 years old,” Adams said. “And so 5,500 are not eligible, so that leaves us a total of 9,500 out of the 60,000 that are eligible to apply for the work authorization.”
During Wednesday’s briefing, which Adams did not attend, reporters pressured city officials to explain the large discrepancy.
Long suggested that the counts were still in flux. He said the city is 70% of the way through its survey of the migrant shelter population.
“So the number could change again,” Long said. “But that's OK. The important thing is for us to get not just the correct number, but know where everybody is that will be immediately reached out to when they can start to submit their temporary protected status applications.”
Anne Williams-Isom, the deputy mayor for health and human services, similarly downplayed the changing counts.
“So I understand that this is an important issue, we will give you the information,” she said, appearing visibly annoyed. “But please don't tell me it's because the public is dying to know the numbers of Venezuelans.”
Correction: Due to a misstatement from City Hall, this story has been updated to reflect the total number of Venezuelans in the city's care.
Tagged
new york city
Politics
Asylum Seekers
eric adams
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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