Immigration

Overwhelmed New York City Considers Housing Migrants In Notorious Jail: REPORT

Prision Cells at Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho

New York City is considering using Rikers Island jail to house the influx of migrants as hotels fill up, according to the New York Post.

Currently, almost 50% of NYC hotel space is occupied by migrants, the Post reported. A source familiar with the potential plan said that government officials toured Rikers Island — a jail notorious for abuse and deteriorating conditions — as a “last ditch site” to house the influx of migrants seeking refuge in the city.

So far, 65,000 migrants have come to New York City seeking shelter, and Mayor Eric Adams expects up to 15 buses of additional people this weekend, ABC7 NY reported.  In addition to hotels, Adams has picked 20 schools with detached gyms to house asylum seekers.

“As we’ve been saying for months, we are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, having opened approximately 150 emergency sites, including eight large-scale humanitarian relief centers, to serve more than 65,000 asylum seekers,” said a statement by Adams’ office.

“We received more than 4,200 asylum seekers last week alone and continue to receive hundreds of asylum seekers every day,” it reads. “We are opening emergency shelters and respite centers daily, but we are out of space.”

Many of the hotels in New York, like the historic Roosevelt Hotel, which closed three years ago, will reopen as shelter for up to 1,000 migrants, The Associated Press reported. The influx of migrants comes after the expiration of Title 42, which was instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow officials to quickly turn away migrants trying to enter the United States.

Adams planned to bus migrants to two counties north of the city, but the counties have fought back. Rockland County successfully acquired a restraining order against the city of New York and Adams, effectively blocking the bussing of over 300 migrants to their town, according to a press release from the county.

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.