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More NYC migrant families relocated to shelters in other boroughs, new data shows
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Sep 12, 2024
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By
Arya Sundaram
Published Sep 12, 2024
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Mayor Eric Adams’ 60-day stay limit for migrant families in city shelters appears to be working as intended: Over half of the 12,560 families who have received eviction notices have since left the shelter system altogether, according to City Hall data.
Of the roughly 6,000 families left behind, nearly 9 in every 10 of them had to move to another shelter, according to data from the mayor's office that was shared with City Council officials and obtained by Gothamist. Adams' policy allows evictees with nowhere to go to reapply for shelter.
And about a third of the evicted migrant families who remained in the shelter system after reapplying for shelter were relocated to other boroughs, according to the data, up from about 5% as of March 3.
The data, which is current through Aug. 11, provides the most up-to-date look into the 60-day stay limit's effects on migrant families, as the controversial policy is set to vastly expand over the coming months. Adams has said the limits are necessary to cut costs and spur migrants to “take the next step in their journeys.”
Homeless and child advocates say the long-distance moves for migrants compelled to remain in the shelter system have unnecessarily uprooted families, disrupted children’s schooling, and made it harder for parents to hold down jobs to support themselves and exit the shelter system. The city is housing about 65,000 migrants in over 200 city shelters.
“Moving families around is just horribly destabilizing for kids’ education,” said Jennifer Pringle, director of the Learners in Temporary Housing project at the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York, adding: “I can't underemphasize the pervasiveness of fear about impending instability throughout the system.” A 30-day stay limit applies to adult migrants without children.
Shelter staffers aim to keep migrant families in the borough where their youngest child attends school, to avoid disrupting their education, according to City Hall spokesperson Liz Garcia. If that’s not possible, public school staffers work to connect them to transportation, she said.
Garcia did not immediately provide data on the number of relocated families living in the borough of their youngest child’s school.
Garcia also underscored that the shelter limits are necessary to alleviate the strain on the city’s shelter system. For the last several months, the migrant shelter census has hovered around 65,000. City officials say that total is unsustainable, despite a steep decline in the number of new migrants arriving and seeking shelter in the city. New York City has spent over $5 billion to house and care for an influx of over 214,000 migrants since spring of 2022.
Adams administration officials have responded to criticisms of the stay limit by touting the limits' success in nudging families to leave the shelter system. Adams has repeatedly said that no families with children have been forced to sleep on the streets.
Most affected students remain in same school
Many education and homeless advocates have long raised concerns about relocated students transferring schools midyear, disrupting their education, as well as schools’ staffing and programming logistics.
A city report from July 2023 cited research showing that homeless students who transfer schools midyear due to housing instability have worse academic performance.
But the data shows that the vast majority — nearly 9 in 10 — of the 7,000 migrant students whose families received 60-day eviction notices remained in the same school. That’s according to data shared with the City Council from July 14.
Notably, according to the data, 52% of affected students remained in the same school and shelter, suggesting that the majority of students weren’t severely disrupted by the shelter limits.
Over a third of affected students, 37%, changed housing locations and continued to attend the same school, according to the obtained data. No further information was available about where they relocated.
About 8% of those students left the city’s public school system altogether, and 1.7% transferred schools.
School transportation issues for relocated students
In early January, as the first wave of migrant families were evicted from shelters, some families opted to have their children skip school. When Joana Rivas, 29, from Venezuela, reapplied for shelter, she brought her 9-year-old along since she wasn’t sure where she’d be staying that night.
Other migrant students have missed school due to lack of transportation, according to education advocates, who cite instances where migrant families were relocated from south Brooklyn to Queens and from Midtown to the Bronx.
Under federal law, students in homeless shelters who move shelters are entitled to remain in the same school, and receive transportation to do so. In New York City, public school students in grades K-6 living in temporary housing are entitled to school busing service, if available; otherwise, their parents can get MetroCards to accompany them to school on the subway.
But parents and schools have reported issues with getting MetroCards, according to advocates and elected officials.
Natasha Quiroga, the director of education policy at InsideSchools, testified in a City Council hearing in November that "so many families" at five shelters her staff surveyed were “struggling” to transport their children to school, including several families who couldn’t get MetroCards.
Fifteen public schools across Harlem and Washington Heights faced shortages in free MetroCards to distribute to parents in shelters, according to a March survey by Councilmember Gale Brewer's office. Some schools reported dozens of missing cards, and monthslong shipment delays.
Families in shelters have also long faced delays in receiving requested bus service, according to Pringle.
Nicole Brownstein, a spokesperson for the city Department of Education, says the agency’s Office of Pupil Transportation is committed to providing transportation services to all eligible students, whether on school buses or through OMNY cards.
Over the last three years, she said the number of students in temporary housing routed on yellow school buses has nearly doubled, from an average of 2,800 in the 2021-2022 school year to 5,500 in 2023-2024 school year. Meanwhile, the number of MetroCards distributed to parents in shelters has increased by at least 80%, she added.
The Family Homelessness Coalition, a group of 20 shelter operators and advocates, sent both Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul a letter on Monday, in which it cited “grave concerns” about the 60-day limits, and requested more rental assistance resources for migrants and a more “humane” approach.
“In general, 60 days is not sufficient time for shelter staff to work with families to secure public benefits assistance and find permanent housing,” the letter stated. “When families are forced to reapply and relocate, those processes will have to start all over again, to say nothing of the trust that is formed with caseworker staff that is developed over time.”
Sam Spokony, a spokesperson for Hochul, referred questions about the shelter stay limits to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the state agency that approved the Adams administration’s request to expand the eviction policy. A spokesperson for that office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Tagged
new york city
education
Race And Justice Unit
Asylum Seekers
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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