NY AG James no longer representing Gov. Hochul in migrant case

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is no longer representing Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in a legal case involving New York City’s “right-to-shelter” policy, according to a Thursday court filing, as the city struggles to house a record number of migrants arriving from the southern border.

The legal filing lists a private law firm, Selendy Gay Elsberg PLLC, as the representation going forward for the state defendants, replacing the attorney general. 

The legal proceedings center on a decades-old “right-to-shelter” law in New York City, requiring the state to provide shelter to anyone in need. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed his desire to honor that mandate, but he has struggled amid an influx of migrants from the southern border. 

In the past year, nearly 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York, and Adams has said the city does not have the resources to provide the appropriate shelter. The State Supreme Court is now pushing the state to provide more assistance, but Hochul has signaled some resistance. 

The court ordered Adams to submit a list of needs to Hochul by Wednesday, a deadline he met this week. Hochul now has until Aug. 15 to respond, the judge ordered. 

In public remarks Thursday, Hochul reportedly indicated that she was inclined to help but did not want the right to shelter to extend statewide.

“We believe — and I’m convinced — that the right to shelter is the result of a consent decree undertaken by the City of New York,” Hochul said to reporters in Albany, according to The New York Times. “The state is not a party to that, so right to shelter does not expand to the whole of the state.”

Multiple reports cite people close to James claiming that the attorney general’s decision to stop representing the state was over “fundamental policy disagreements with the governor over the state’s role in managing the crisis,” according to the Times.