New York City has filed suit against over two dozen counties for refusing to offer asylum to migrants who have poured into the city in recent months.
The lawsuit is the latest clash between state officials and local leaders in the Big Apple who hold opposing beliefs on how to handle the influx of asylum seekers. New York City is suing 30 counties for attempts to “wall off their borders” through “xenophobic” executive orders that violate a bevy of laws, according to ABC News.
Mayor Eric Adams offered a solution to the overwhelming number of migrants descending upon the city by offering houses of worship as alternative living options, however, the sheer volume of asylum seekers has triggered a series of emergency declarations across the state. Local officials have began threatening NYC and any willing hotels and businesses who aid in the relocation of migrants with criminal penalties.
“These counties have implemented misguided and unlawful executive orders premised on false claims that the prospect of a few hundred asylum seekers sheltered at the city’s expense across multiple counties constitute an emergency and imperil public safety,” said Sylvia Hinds-Radiz, who is a lawyer for the city.
Though morality is at the heart of NYC’s lawsuit, state officials have raised concerns about the actual infrastructure of a city that is already overcrowded and that expects to host over 61 million tourists in 2023 alone, according to Thrillist. Concerns about crime and other acts of lawlessness have also been voiced alongside fears that once hotels and other businesses end their aid, the state will become responsible for the care of thousands of migrants.
“We are not equipped to humanely assist these individuals, which eventually we’re going to have to do,” said Ed Day, the Republican executive of Rockland County, which was one of the first counties to receive asylum seekers from New York City, according to ABC News.