NYC to end case management that helps new arrivals exit migrant shelters

Arya Sundaram

Published May 23, 2025

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Newly arrived asylum seekers wait in a holding area at the Port Authority bus terminal before being sent off to area shelters and hotels on May 15, 2023, in New York City.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Arya Sundaram

Published May 23, 2025

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New York City will no longer provide case management services — including help finding legal aid, jobs and English classes — at migrant shelters across the city as of June 30, Mayor Eric Adams' administration said, citing a lack of state funding.

City officials have credited the services with assisting tens of thousands of migrants in exiting shelters over the past few years. Now, they say many newcomers will be left to their own devices in finding permanent housing and other supports.

“We are not out of the woods yet and still have over 38,000 migrants in our care,” Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, said in a statement Friday. “Still, the state recently decided not to allocate any new funding to New York City for migrant-related costs, and, as a result, the case management services that we have been offering at migrant shelters will no longer be available. We are disappointed in the state’s decision.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has committed more than $4 billion to the city in recent years for migrant assistance, but recently denied Adams’ request for another $1 billion.

Avi Small, a spokesperson for the governor, said the state was not retreating in its support for new arrivals.

“The number of weekly migrant arrivals has declined by 95% and the city has more than $2 billion from the state that they have yet to draw from, which is why this year’s budget did not include additional funding,” Small said in a statement. “The governor will continue partnering with City Hall to address their responsibility to provide shelter to new arrivals."

The city has spent at least $7.7 billion to house and care for more than 236,000 migrants since the spring of 2022, according to city officials. Garcia said it has already spent the $2 billion to which Small referred, and plans to submit reimbursement requests for the costs.

More than 300 case managers were providing services at the peak of the migrant influx, at a cost of $51.5 million, according to City Hall. Nearly 90,000 asylum-seekers have had about 1 million meetings with social workers at city shelters, Garcia said.

The city began offering the assistance at shelters to help migrants find their footing and move out of them. As fewer new arrivals have come to the city in recent months, the administration has been closing migrant shelters. It has also been closing help sites for migrants, including three resource centers for asylum and other applications, due to what city officials say is a lack of state funding,

Immigration advocates have complained that the case management services have been insufficient. A report by the city comptroller’s office last May found the services “consist[ed] of little more than repetitive screening for alternatives to shelter.”

Garcia said the city's public health system will continue providing behavioral health services at migrant shelters, while the Department of Homeless Services will continue offering case management services at its traditional shelters, some of which house migrants.

Tagged

new york city

Asylum Seekers

housing

homelessness

Kathy Hochul

Race And Justice Unit

eric adams