NYC sues 30 counties for refusing asylum-seekers

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced Wednesday the city is filing a lawsuit against 30 New York counties over executive orders that aim to prevent the city from sending asylum-seekers to their jurisdictions.

“This lawsuit aims to put an end to this xenophobic bigotry and ensure our state acts as one as we work together to manage this humanitarian crisis fairly and humanely, as we have done from the beginning and as we will continue to do,” Adams said in a statement.  

The announcement states at least 30 counties have filed executive orders to stop New York City from arranging for asylum-seekers to stay in hotels within their jurisdictions at the city’s expense. The lawsuit argues that the executive orders are an “unlawful attempt” to prevent New York City from addressing a statewide emergency and humanitarian crisis.

The announcement also noted that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) emergency order emphasized there is an “already a large-scale humanitarian crisis and emergency” that she expects to get worse. According to the announcement, the city is providing shelter to more than 47,200 asylum-seekers.

“Since this crisis began, New York City has — virtually on its own — stepped up to provide shelter, food, clothing, and other services to asylum-seekers arriving in our city. We are doing our part and will continue to do our part, but we need every locality across the state to do their part as well,” Adams said.

The lawsuit alleges that the counties’ claims that public safety would be at risk if they allowed migrants to stay in private hotels were “baseless.” Adams said in his statement that the city has “repeatedly sounded the alarm” that its system for sheltering migrants was out of capacity.

“While many communities have been overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic about welcoming these new arrivals to their cities and towns, some elected officials have attempted to build metaphorical walls around their localities with unlawful executive orders,” Adams said.

This lawsuit comes after a New York judge temporarily blocked Adams from sending additional asylum-seekers to Orange County, which was one of the first counties to announce an executive order barring asylum-seeking from private hotels within its borders. The ruling allowed the migrants already transported to the county to remain there.  

The increase in migrants comes as some GOP governors have sent thousands of migrants north to Democratic-led cities in protest of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Adams floated the idea of housing migrants in private homes and houses of worship earlier this week as the city continues to address the influx.