Hochul updates on ongoing efforts to shelter, support asylum seekers

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday updated New Yorkers on the state’s ongoing efforts to support asylum seekers, help them find shelter, and connect them with critical social services as they arrive in New York.

This includes $250 million in funding already sent to the city, progress resulting from continued advocacy with the federal government, and additional National Guard deployments. 

“Since asylum seekers first arrived in New York, we have been providing significant humanitarian aid as New York City works to meet their legal obligation to provide shelter,” Hochul said. “We will continue our efforts to provide financial support, personnel and equipment, and continued advocacy for federal assistance.”

As a part of the $1 billion in funding Hochul secured in the FY 2024 State Budget, the governor advanced $250 million to the city to reimburse their costs; this financial support will continue as the city continues to make additional financial expenditures. 

The governor said the $250 million payment to New York City will be used to financially support Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRC), sanctuary sites, and respite renters, as well as welcome, intake, and navigation centers that provide immediate assistance to asylum seekers. 

She said funding in the FY 2024 Budget provides a 29 percent reimbursement to New York City for allowable costs associated with operating these programs. 

Hochul said gligible costs include, but are not limited to: Staffing, security, maintenance, and cleaning; critical social services provided at program sites; shelter costs, food, and personal supplies or services (such as clothing, linens, hygiene items, beds, diapers, laundry services, etc.); transportation and interpretation services; and IT supplies and support. 

A $25 million investment was included in the FY 2024 Budget to voluntarily relocate 1,250 families – approximately 4,375 individuals – who have already applied for asylum; this funding is in addition to more than $700 million in the FY 2024 Budget allocated for temporary shelter at hotels and mass shelter sites. 

At this time, Hochul said 17 families who are willing to participate and eligible to participate have been identified by the city and are in this state-funded program and that the state will continue to support relocation for additional families as they opt into the program. 

She said participants in this program, who are on the path to work authorization in the United States, will be relocated and matched with social service agencies who can help them adjust and resettle while NYS pays for their rent. 

In addition, Hochul said after her meeting with Tom Perez, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President of the United States, federal officials have increased their assistance to New York in recent weeks following months of advocacy from her and local leaders. 

She said state, federal, and city officials toured federally-owned sites at Floyd Bennett Field and Fort Wadsworth to assess their suitability for sheltering asylum seekers. 

Hochul Administration officials will also be meeting with US Department of Interior officials tomorrow to discuss federally-owned land that could be appropriate to use as shelter. 

The governor also announced the deployment of additional New York National Guard personnel and assets to asylum seeker sites in Erie County. 

The deployment to Erie County builds on more than 1,800 National Guard personnel who are currently providing logistical and operational support to shelters in New York City. 

More than 30 of the hotel-based shelter sites in New York City are staffed exclusively by New York State National Guard personnel and an additional 18 are primarily staffed through these State personnel.

Hochul said a shelter site on state-owned land at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens will open this week and will have the capacity to house up to 1,000 asylum seekers, and a shelter site that is fully paid for by the State of New York will open shortly on Randall’s Island. 

She said the state has already loaned New York City sites at the former Lincoln Correctional Facility in Manhattan and at a state-owned building at JFK Airport in Queens, both of which opened in June and house more than 1,000 asylum seekers every day.