New York City officials said curfews would be enforced in 20 additional migrant shelters starting Monday.
According to Mayor Eric Adams, the curfew for migrants in the additional shelters will be in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The mayor made the announcement after police said a group of men attacked two officers outside a migrant shelter in Times Square.
A few days later, police said a 15-year-old migrant shot a woman at a JD Sports shop in Times Square and then allegedly opened fire on the officers chasing him.
Hildalyn Colon-Hernandez, deputy director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, or NICE, said:
“Unfortunately, the incident that happened in Times Square. It’s not the norm.”
Colon-Hernandez agrees with curfew expansion for the safety of migrants. The city said in a statement that it “prioritises the health and safety” of asylum seekers and New Yorkers, and that it will “allow for better management of migrant opportunities in the city’s custody”.
Mayor Adams spoke about the curfew at an unrelated event on Sunday. He noted:
“Anything that could keep us safe, that’s the goal. Public safety.”
The New York mayor also stressed the need for structure, organisation and federal assistance in dealing with the asylum seeker crisis. Adams added:
“The real issue is the national government should solve the problem. It’s not a city problem. It’s a national government problem.”
The curfew went into effect at four shelters in mid-January. It has since expanded to 20 more shelters, mostly in Manhattan. Colon-Hernandez’s organisation provides workforce development training to hundreds of asylum seekers each month. They comply with the current curfew, she said. Colon-Hernandez also claimed:
“There’s hundreds of hardworking people that they’re doing everything, the right thing to contribute to the city. So I hope that people doesn’t get guided by circumstances.”
The curfew extension affects more than 3,600 additional migrants across city shelters.
