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NYC sues 30 upstate counties, Suffolk County for barring migrants
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jun 7, 2023
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Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jun 7, 2023
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Mayor Eric Adams’ administration sued 30 upstate counties and Long Island on Wednesday for refusing to accommodate migrants, saying it was time to bring an end to “xenophobic bigotry.”
Suburban and rural towns across the state have tried to “block New York City from arranging for even a small number of asylum-seekers to stay in private hotels within their jurisdictions – at the city’s expense – amidst a major humanitarian crisis,” the suit states.
The city is asking a judge to invalidate all “emergency executive orders” issued by county leaders barring migrants from staying in local hotels on the city’s dime.
On Tuesday, a federal judge vacated executive orders in Orange and Rockland counties. The city’s suit takes on the same counties under state law and expands the fight to more than two dozen other counties.
The suit was announced the same day that Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that FEMA will provide $104.6 million in funding to help the city care for migrants.
More than 47,200 migrants sleeping in over 160 sites are currently under the city’s care, city officials said earlier this week.
“Some elected officials have attempted to build metaphorical walls around their localities with unlawful executive orders,” Adams said in a press release. “This lawsuit aims to put an end to this xenophobic bigotry.”
Rockland County “even forced a hotel to close, displacing ordinary hotel guests and posting county law enforcement to monitor the location 24 hours a day,” read the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Adams sent several dozen migrants to a hotel in Orange County last month, despite vehement opposition from local officials. According to legal experts, attempts to prevent people from moving upstate are unconstitutional.
Most counties named in the suit overwhelmingly voted Republican in the last presidential election. The full list includes: Suffolk, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Onondaga, Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Cortland, Delaware, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Herkimer, Madison, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Riverhead, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schuyler, Sullivan, Tioga, Warren and Wyoming counties.
“These people are heading to New York City because it is a sanctuary city and instead of living up to that declaration of sanctuary, Mayor Eric Adams and the city is exporting them to neighboring municipalities across the state of New York, including Rockland County,” Rockland County Executive Ed Day said in a statement earlier this week.
Some migrants have been met with hostility. One man bused to Newburgh told the Associated Press, “It’s better in New York City … There, no one cursed at you and said ‘go back to your country.’”
The city’s lawsuit on Wednesday was the latest in an ongoing legal battle pitting Adams against his suburban and rural counterparts. Orange, Rockland and Onondaga counties sued New York City last month, claiming that officials were acting beyond legal authority by trying to house migrants upstate.
Several weeks ago, a group of Hudson Valley hotel owners sued 26 upstate counties and some towns, claiming their local governments were bowing “to xenophobic and political interests.”
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new york city
Asylum Seekers
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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