New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday called on the state to pick up about half of the tab for the city’s ongoing illegal immigration crisis.
Adams travelled to the state legislature in Albany, where he testified at an annual hearing known as “Tin Cup Day,” where mayors from across the Empire State lobby for state funds, and called for a total of $4.6 billion through 2025.
I think there’s a realization that New York City and New York state is going to have to address this issue and we’re saying it should not be all on the backs of New York City residents. It has put the city in a precarious situation. Today we are asking the state to increase its commitment to 50% of our cost.
Adams said the number of shelters in the city has tripled since he took office. At least 170,000 undocumented migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022.
Previously, New York State pledged about $2.4 billion for fiscal year 2025 to combat the migrant crisis, but Adams told lawmakers Tuesday that the state’s pledge would only cover a third of the city’s costs. The $2.4 billion is in addition to the $1.9 billion already allocated by the state for fiscal year 2024.
Adams said about $1.3 billion of the $2.4 billion already allocated by New York Governor Kathy Hochul will go toward building large migrant tent shelters in Queens, on Randall’s Island and in Brooklyn at Floyd Bennett Field. About $1.1 billion will go to pay for housing, food and other services for the roughly 67,000 migrants still in the city’s custody.
We’re the economic engine of the state. And we’ve always been here for the state. We need the state now to be here for us in the city.
