Under the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas succeeded in causing a migrant crisis in sanctuary states and cities that were far from the border line. Under Operation Lone Star, Abbott decided to implement a set of measures to secure the border and prevent illegal immigration. Transporting migrants to sanctuary cities and states stands out among all the other controversial measures implemented as a part of the initiative. Since its launch, Texas has transported over 105,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, aiming to mitigate the adverse effects of the migrant influx on its southern cities.
A ‘successful’ measure
The Texas leadership sees this measure as a complete success. They succeeded in ‘transporting the chaos‘ caused by immigrants to areas that were not directly impacted by illegal immigration until that point, at least not as much as Texas. Abbott wanted to show Democratic-led cities what Texas was going through every day, as well as how difficult and expensive it was to handle migrants’ basic needs. Two years later, some of these cities are heavily struggling to provide immigrants with at least basic assistance and support.
New York City hit the hardest
Since April 2022, New York City has received the largest number of migrants from Texas. The Texas governor reported that they transported just under 40,000 migrants to New York City alone. For months, local leaders struggled to enforce measures, but starting next week, they are officially starting an open war with them. A top official in Mayor Adams’ administration announced on Friday that they will force migrants staying in New York City shelters out as early as next week if they can’t prove they’ve experienced extenuating circumstances around finding new housing.
The details
The new approach represents stricter regulations. Previously, migrants could reapply for a new placement after a 30-day limit. Now, they must prove extenuating circumstances for a longer stay. If they can’t, they won’t get another placement after 30 days. This policy change follows a controversial court settlement in March about the city’s right to shelter law. The settlement allows the city to end adult migrants’ shelter stays if they haven’t found other housing and can’t prove extenuating circumstances after 30 days. This rule doesn’t apply to migrant families with children.
The extenuating circumstances
Extenuating circumstances for single adult migrants and adult families include having a signed lease, proof of an immigration proceeding starting within 30 days of the notice expiring, upcoming medical procedures, or if the migrant is 18-20 years old, proof of full-time enrollment in a public school. Another way to stay in shelter is to show “significant efforts” to resettle, like job applications, applying for work authorization, and searching for housing.
Camille Joseph Varlack, Adams’ chief of staff, said in a video briefing on Friday that as of this week, 30-day notices had expired for about 200 migrants who had the chance to present their extenuating circumstances if needed.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants
Since Adams took office in January 2022, around 200,000 migrants have come into the city, overwhelming the shelter system and finances. Currently, about 65,000 migrants are under the city’s care. To ease this burden, Adams and his team set a rule last September that single adult migrants couldn’t stay in the same shelter bed for more than 30 days without having to reapply for a new placement.
On Friday, city officials reported that about 6,500 migrants have received new vacate notices. Proving just one significant effort to resettle or one extenuating circumstance allows them to remain in shelter.
Nearly 200 hundred migrants to be interviewed next month
So far, 29 migrants have applied for extensions and been interviewed, according to Varlack. Of these, 14 were approved and 15 denied extended stays. Therefore, 186 migrants might be put out of shelter starting next week, though this could change if more apply for extensions. When asked on Friday if the city knows how many migrants who left city care have found stable housing, Varlack said she does not.
