New York State Call on Migrant Issue Disappointing, and Supports Need for State of Emergency Issued Today, Says County Executive Steve McLaughlin
New York State Call on Migrant Issue Disappointing, and Supports Need for State of Emergency Issued Today, Says County Executive Steve McLaughlin
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said he was disappointed by an afternoon conference call with New York State officials on the issue of migrants being forced from New York City into upstate counties, and said the call today demonstrates Rensselaer County was right to issue a county-wide State of Emergency.
McLaughlin said the state’s own Disaster declaration, as issued today by Governor Hochul, is ineffective and will do little to address the issue or protect counties and the migrants being forced out of New York City.
The 4 p.m. call included top state officials addressing county leaders from across the state but did not include Governor Hochul.
“Residents should be aware that right now, there is no plan by the state to protect upstate counties. There is also no plan to ensure these migrants are treated fairly or humanely, only an assurance that New York City will pay for a temporary settlement,” said McLaughlin.
“The state and Governor Hochul have not issued a request to President Biden or New York City Mayor Adams to stop these forced transports of migrants from the city into upstate. That amounts to inaction by the state,” added McLaughlin.
“Our county, and many other counties across upstate, are simply not prepared or do not have adequate resources to handle the influx of migrants expected to arrive in the coming weeks,” noted McLaughlin.
The state’s Disaster declaration No. 28 notes NYC is now providing housing for just under 37,000 migrants from the southern border. That number has increased by 12,279 since January of this year, and by 1,578 individuals in just the last week.
The state Disaster declaration states further “it is anticipated there will be a surge of migration into the United States resulting in the imminent arrival of individuals to the City and State of New York at an increased rate of what is expected to be several thousand additional people seeking shelter each week.”
“The state’s own Disaster declaration shows clearly the failure of the Biden administration to control our borders. The influx of migrants as predicted by the state is very significant and a concern to county leaders across the state.
The Rensselaer County State of Emergency was issued on Tuesday afternoon. The county joined Rockland and Orange counties in issuing a State of Emergency. The county State of Emergency prohibits municipalities and businesses from entering into contracts to house migrants.