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Hundreds of migrants are arriving daily at NYC airports. Their main source of help is running dry.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published May 13, 2023
Modified May 13, 2023
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By
Elizabeth Kim
Published May 13, 2023
Modified May 13, 2023
Share
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Migrants arriving in New York City’s Port Authority bus terminal have been met by the National Guard, city officials, nonprofit volunteers — even Mayor Eric Adams himself — where they’re given food, clothing, transportation and connections to housing.
But the hundreds who arrive each day at one of the city’s two major airports receive no such formal assistance. Many, who have no money or knowledge of where to go, have wound up reaching out to strangers they learned about through word of mouth.
“Migrants have our numbers,” said Power Malu, who runs the group Artists Athletes Activists. “They know we are the go-to people. They are constantly sharing our number.”
Throughout the crisis, volunteers like Malu have stepped in to help the city, plugging holes in the city’s support network. Now his group — which has a shoestring annual budget of $150,000 — is running out of money. He said he has repeatedly asked city officials for help.
“The city has access to vans, buses and they are not offering any of that,” he said. “If you’re not going to offer, at least reimburse us.”
His plea comes as city officials are expecting an increase in migrants following the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration policy that had enabled the swift expulsion of certain migrants.
Aside from the challenges to the migrants themselves, the prospect of hundreds of people stranded at area airports could also present a raft of logistical problems for two of the busiest transit hubs in the country. Reports have emerged in recent months from places like El Paso and Chicago where migrants were forced to sleep on airport floors when they couldn't find shelter or transportation.
Malu said his group is spending around $30,000 a month to arrange for Uber vehicles to take stranded migrants to their destinations, which are often city-run shelters or intake centers. Most of that money has come from donations. He said volunteers have also dipped into their personal funds.
For advocates and volunteers, the lack of any resources or plan at the airports has been vexing. Although most of the attention is focused on the Port Authority bus terminal, migrants have been streaming through a variety of transit hubs.
“[City officials] say the determination was not to take this on,” said Joshua Goldfein, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society who has raised the issue with administration officials.
Yet those on the ground say many migrants arriving at the airports — whose tickets are sometimes paid for by nonprofits — are destitute. Unlike the buses, which have mostly seen migrants from Latin America, those at the airports come from all over the world, including Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and China.
Adama Bah and Power Malu, of Artists Athletes Activists. Since August, they have been helping migrants who arrive at all of the city's transit hubs.
Courtesy of Artists Athletes Activists
“They have zero dollars, they don’t speak English and they have nothing with them,” said Candice Braun, who volunteers with Malu. “So what are they supposed to do?”
Asked about the situation at the city’s airports, mayoral spokesperson Fabien Levy blamed “a network of activists” who he said were “organizing large-scale arrivals of asylum seekers to New York City via plane, bus, and other modes of transportation — taking advantage of city and state laws and luring them here with false promises.”
“We have reached the limit of new shelters we can open,” he added. “We’ve been asking for support for a year, and now with Title 42 being lifted this week and with hundreds of asylum seekers already arriving in New York City every day, we desperately need federal and state support more than ever to quickly manage this crisis.”
On the ground, help has come from unexpected places. Oftentimes, the person calling Malu is a good samaritan: a fellow passenger, a baggage handler or another airport employee.
On Friday afternoon, it happened to be a Port Authority police officer at LaGuardia Airport.
He seemed to know the drill, and told the volunteers he was trying to get help for three different families from Venezuela.
Malu and Adama Bah, who runs the operation with him, were running an errand near Port Authority bus terminal, where they have several tables set up. Along with a team of roughly 15 to 20 volunteers, they monitor all of the city’s transit hubs where migrants might arrive.
Malu, a Nuyorican, asked the police officer to pass the phone to one of the migrants with whom he spoke in Spanish. After a quick breakdown of kids and adults, Malu did the math.
He instructed the officer to wait for another migrant at another terminal who is also seeking transportation.
Beside him, Bah ordered an extra large vehicle on Uber.
“We can pack that car,” Malu told the officer. “It'll fit all six of them.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
transportation
airports
immigration
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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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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