New York City is reportedly seeking to house 14,000 migrants in hotel rooms through next year, despite a significant drop in migrant encounters at the southern border. The Department of Homeless Services is looking to secure a contract with hotels to provide a total of 14,000 rooms for sheltering migrants. The city has already spent over $2.3 billion on housing migrants over a three-year period, with most of that money going towards rent for hotels. Mayor Eric Adams has previously stated that costs could balloon to over $10 billion by the end of the next fiscal year, with previous estimates being even higher.
With an average cost of $352 per night for at least 36,939 households, the city is projected to spend $4.75 billion on shelter, food, health care, and education for migrants during the 2025 fiscal year. In August, the city announced new contracts totaling $40 million for contractors to service migrants at hotels used as emergency shelters. As the number of migrants surged at the border in 2021 and 2022, tens of thousands traveled to major blue cities like New York City. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to these sanctuary cities in an attempt to relieve pressure on border states.
During the height of the crisis, there were scenes of hundreds of migrants camped outside the Roosevelt Hotel. New York City officials have stated that over 218,000 migrants have received services in the city since 2022. The city has helped complete over 72,000 applications for work permits, temporary protected status, and asylum. Additionally, New York City has purchased 47,000 tickets to help migrants relocate to different parts of the country. While the city was initially taking in an average of 4,000 migrants per week, that number has dropped significantly in recent months as the crisis at the border has eased.
Currently, the city is closing a massive tent shelter on Randall’s Island as the number of asylum seekers in city shelters has decreased for 14 straight weeks, reaching the lowest point in over a year. Mayor Adams has stated that the city is making progress in managing the crisis and is no longer scrambling to open new shelters or discussing how much money is being spent, but rather how much has been saved. Despite the decreasing numbers of new migrants arriving in the city, officials are remaining vigilant and working towards a sustainable solution to the ongoing migrant crisis in New York City.
