Two chartered buses from Laredo, Texas, rolled into the Port Authority just before 6:30 a.m. on Friday, transporting men, women and children who had traveled thousands of miles to New York City in a bid to gain asylum in the US.
(Bloomberg) — Two chartered buses from Laredo, Texas, rolled into the Port Authority just before 6:30 a.m. on Friday, transporting men, women and children who had traveled thousands of miles to New York City in a bid to gain asylum in the US.
For the migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, it should be the last leg of a long journey. But their future remains uncertain. New York Mayor Eric Adams has warned repeatedly that the city can’t absorb any more migrants without additional funding from the federal government.
The two buses, carrying around 90 people, are among the first of many expected over the next weeks as thousands of migrants on the Texas border make their way north to New York, Chicago and other cities after the lifting of a pandemic-era policy that made it easier to turn people away at the border.
Two more chartered buses should arrive in New York on Saturday morning, according to Power Malu, founder of nonprofit organization Artists Athletes Activists. Migrants are also arriving through airports and on passenger lines such as Greyhound.
“We constantly have more people coming in,” Malu said.
New York and other major cities are gearing up for an anticipated surge of migrants following the end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed the US to quickly expel migrants at the border because of the pandemic. The expected wave is sounding alarms because resources are already strained, with newcomers camped out in cheap hotels and bus terminals.
Work Permits
Adams has urged President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to better coordinate the response effort, saying the city is receiving 500 migrants per day from border states. His office has said the numbers could double with the end of Title 42.
On Friday, the city’s congressional delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Representatives Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, asked the White House to expedite work authorizations for asylum seekers, eliminating the federal waiting period of 150 days.
“We write to urge the administration to ease the undue delays in granting work authorizations to asylum seekers,” the letter said. “Asylum seekers should be permitted to obtain work authorization from the moment they file their asylum claim.”
Volunteers including Malu greeted migrants in Spanish on Friday as they entered the station through a side door near Times Square. Some people appeared to be alone. There were also families with small children, including a girl clutching two dolls.
Inside, the roughly 90 new arrivals gathered in an area enclosed with yellow barricades that had rows of beige, gray and black chairs. Volunteers handed them coconut water and Dunkin’ Donuts. Police officers and about six personnel in US Army and Marine uniforms were also on hand.
The immediate priority was helping people find shelter, Malu said. Some of the migrants have family in the area they can stay with.
Families Reunited
Luigi Garcia, 30, was standing outside of the enclosed area when three kids jumped into his arms. He said he arrived from Venezuela a year ago and had been saving money to bring his family over. On Friday, he was finally reunited with his wife and children.
Since last spring, New York has welcomed more than 65,000 asylum seekers, a city official said, and 39,400 are still under its care. The city has opened 130 emergency shelters and eight temporary facilities to manage the surge.
Earlier this week, Adams temporarily suspended some of the rules that require the city to shelter asylum seekers, including the timing for placements in shelters and the accommodations the city has to provide unhoused families. Advocacy groups criticized his decision, saying it could put migrants at risk.
Adams also sent two buses with migrants the town of Newburgh, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of New York City, according to Spectrum News.
A 27-year-old Venezuelan man called Gerber, who declined to give his last name, said he arrived by plane from Texas on Thursday night with his 28-year-old wife. They slept at the Port Authority as they waited for help.
He wants to attend free English classes organized by a church so he can get a job. But first, he was trying to get a place to sleep.
–With assistance from Immanual John Milton.
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