New Yorkers back ‘right to shelter,’ but hold ambivalent views on housing migrants

New polling of New Yorkers reveals wide-ranging ambivalence about the city’s sheltering of its burgeoning migrant population, including on such basic questions as whether the city should continue helping the newcomers settle — and for how long.

An email heralding a HarrisX survey published earlier this month was emphatic about a key finding: “NEW POLL: 4-in-5 NEW YORKERS ‘SUPPORT RIGHT TO SHELTER,’” which it defined as guaranteeing shelter “to every resident in need.” But mixed feelings emerge deeper into the survey: Just 58% agreed that the city’s “right to shelter should include all families in need, including asylum-seekers,” and 42% agreed that “the right to shelter should be limited to only New York families.”

At the same time, only 30% backed the statement that “New Yorkers should continue to accept new migrants and asylum-seekers,” while 70% agreed that “New Yorkers have already accepted enough migrants.” At the same time, 60% agreed “New Yorkers should continue to live by the words written on the Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor … Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.’”

The survey – conducted for the New York Immigration Coalition and housing provider Win, led by Democrat and former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn – offers perhaps the deepest look yet into ordinary New Yorker’s views about what many describe as the city’s “migrant crisis.” HarrisX surveyed a representative 1,051 adults from all five boroughs. The poll had a margin of error of 3.02 percentage points.