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NY migrant families can stay in shelters longer to keep kids in school
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Nov 18, 2024
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By
Arun Venugopal
Published Nov 18, 2024
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Migrant families in New York will be allowed to remain in the same shelter under a new city policy intended to ensure that young children don’t need to change schools in the middle of the year.
The directive is intended for families with children in kindergarten through sixth grade who have spent at least two 60-day stints in the shelter system.
The policy, announced Monday by Mayor Eric Adams, will also create a centralized mail hub where asylum-seekers can access important government correspondence about their applications for asylum and work authorization. The proposal came after immigrant rights advocates said asylum-seekers who were shuttling between shelter locations were unable to easily access their mail.
The shelter population has declined for 19 consecutive weeks, according to the announcement. Since 2022, more than 223,000 migrants have arrived in the city, according to city officials.
City officials said the policy changes will benefit families, and also save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars on busing students to faraway schools.
“The new policies we’re implementing today will build on our successes,” said Adams in a statement, arguing they would “help even more migrants take their next steps towards fulfilling their American Dream.”
The announcement brought a mixed response from immigrant rights and housing advocates.
“We commend Mayor Adams and his administration for finally listening to advocates and immigrant New Yorkers by issuing the new rules for shelter residents, which will ensure the educational and emotional stability of children living in shelters,” said Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, in a statement.
He also urged the city to invest in more affordable housing instead of shuttling newcomers between different emergency shelters as a result of “unnecessary shelter evictions.”
Awawdeh added that a centralized mail center would allow shelter residents to access legal updates and correspondence, “empowering them to navigate their cases more effectively and streamline their path toward self-sufficiency.”
But Christine Quinn, the president and CEO of housing provider Win, said allowing the 60-day shelter stay limit to remain in place leaves “countless families in a perpetual state of limbo.”
She urged the city to help more families “on their path toward permanent housing” through the use of rental vouchers, which are currently unavailable to migrants.
“While we applaud the City for limiting the scope of the 60-day rule, this measure falls disappointingly short of ending the rule in its entirety,” said Quinn in a statement. “Evicting families from shelter is inhumane, destabilizing, and not a solution to this crisis.”
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new york city
housing
Politics
Asylum Seekers
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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