Immigrant advocates urge Biden to ‘step up, increase’ support for Caribbean asylum seekers

Immigration advocates in New York have urged the Federal Government to “step up and increase” support for Caribbean and other asylum seekers.

The call came as the US Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday sent an “assessment team” to New York City to evaluate the ability of the state and city to handle the ongoing arrivals of asylum seekers. 

“This past weekend marked the anniversary of the first buses arriving at Port Authority [in New York], and, still, the Federal Government has made very little progress in delivering Humanitarian Parole or providing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to these asylum seekers,” Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, told Caribbean Life.

“While the Biden Administration allocated some vital federal resources last year, more needs to be done to help our newest arrivals get on the road to self-sufficiency and begin to contribute to our economy and our communities,” he added. “We call on the Biden Administration to take immediate action in delivering more resources, as well as accelerate providing humanitarian parole, designate and re-designation of TPS applications to newly arrived asylum seekers and individuals whose applications are pending due to lengthy backlogs.”

Many of the refugees arriving in New York from the southern borders of the United States are nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. 

“It’s long past time for the Biden Administration to do more to bolster New York’s ability to welcome people with dignity and respect and integrate them into the fabric of our city and state,” Awawdeh continued. 

In the interim, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the placement of a new Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Randall’s Island in New York City, as the number of Caribbean and other asylum seekers currently in the city’s care surpasses 57,200.

In partnership with New York state, Adams said the city will construct and open a new humanitarian relief center on Randall’s Island to serve up to 2,000 adults seeking asylum.

New York state will reimburse the city for the associated costs of the site, including construction, maintenance, and staffing.

The mayor said this humanitarian relief center will provide a range of services, in addition to ensuring asylum seekers can reach their desired destination, if not New York City.

“As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” said Mayor Adams.

“We’re grateful to Governor [Kathy] Hochul and New York state for their partnership in opening this new humanitarian relief center and covering the costs, and we need more of the same from all levels of government,” he added. “We will continue to work with the governor and elected officials across the state to address this crisis as New York City continues to do more than any other level of government.”

Since this humanitarian crisis began, Adams said the city has taken fast and urgent action — opening over 190 emergency shelters, including 13 other large-scale humanitarian relief centers already, with two more relief centers (not including the site on Randall’s Island) set to open in the coming weeks.

The mayor said the city has also stood up navigation centers to connect asylum seekers with critical resources; enrolled thousands of children in public schools through Project Open Arms; and launched the Asylum Application Help Center, which has already helped submit more than 1,300 applications for asylum.

Earlier this spring, the city released “The Road Forward: A Blueprint to Address New York City’s Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis,” detailing how the city will continue to manage the influx of asylum seekers and advocate for support from federal and state partners.

     But in response to the city’s plans to construct a new Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Randall’s Island, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said: “As the scope and urgency of this humanitarian crisis grows, the insufficient state response and near-total lack of real federal aid have forced the city – which has of course made its own missteps – to now choose from the best of bad options.

“I urge Albany and Washington to see the reality of the challenges facing people seeking asylum in our city and finally step up, instead of looking away,” he told Caribbean Life. “It is vital that this new site meets the standards of New York’s right to shelter, and that it is constructed with safeguards against issues such as flooding and transit access which we raised last time one was built.

“It is also crucial that local residents and leaders are not blindsided by the announcement of new shelters – my office has legislation to require detailed, public plans for future shelter siting, and passing this bill would help to prepare communities for the realities and responsibilities of helping bring our newest New Yorkers into our neighborhoods, not onto the streets,” added the son of Grenadian immigrants.

He said Intro 780 “would create a commission to develop a citywide shelter siting plan for both emergency and longer-term shelters.”

Under the bill, currently in committee, Williams said the commission would develop a five-year plan, updated annually, that determines the best locations for shelters by analyzing the relationship between shelter locations, access to communities of origin, public transit, and essential services.

He said the bill would also help to determine the need for shelters in specific locations, finances required to provide them and any essential, alternative or emergency services required for such shelters, including through public input.