As New York continues to care for thousands of migrants who traveled north after crossing the southern U.S. border, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she spoke with President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening in New York City during a meeting she described as brief, but productive.
“It was an opportunity for me to continue to talk about ways that I believe the federal government can help New York state with this humanitarian crisis,” Hochul said after holding a bill signing ceremony for a series of voting rights laws in Manhattan on Wednesday.
While she did not offer specific details about any commitments made by the president, Hochul emphasized that she is continuing to press for expedited federal work authorization. She also is seeking an extension of temporary protected status for Venezuelans that is already available for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Currently, only Venezuelans who arrived prior to March 2021 are eligible for the program.
The Democratic governor said the pair did not discuss a state or local work permit program, which she and other officials have recently floated as a way to circumvent federal work authorization.
“That’s one option I’m pursuing, but I’m giving the federal government a little more time just to see whether or not they can take some steps that would alleviate the need for that,” she said.
For months, New York state and city leaders have called on the federal government to do more to support efforts to shelter migrants, reaching a fever pitch in recent weeks as Mayor Eric Adams and the Biden administration point fingers at each other over management of the situation.
About 60,000 migrants remain in New York City’s care, according to Adams, who says the crisis is costing the city billions and contributing to budget cuts.
Last week, the Biden administration finalized a lease agreement with New York City to house up to 2,000 migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, the former military airfield in southeast Brooklyn. Hochul’s…
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