In a rare briefing with New York City reporters on Tuesday, the White House sought to counter criticisms that President Joe Biden isn’t doing enough to respond to tens of thousands of migrants that have arrived in the five boroughs over the last year, straining safety net systems that city officials said could cost billions of dollars.
The briefing with senior Biden administration officials comes just days after Mayor Eric Adams escalated his demands for help, threatening to make budget cuts as high as 15% if the state and federal government fail to come up with more money and solutions to the ongoing crisis. Adams’ threats come shortly after he ignited a storm of controversy for saying he saw no end to a migrant crisis that “will destroy New York City.”
In addition to proposing dramatic budget cuts, Adams said shelters are becoming so crowded that the city could soon be forced to move families with children into congregate shelters, an arrangement that would violate the city’s long-standing right-to-shelter rules and raise safety concerns.
While White House officials said they were in constant contact with Gov. Kathy Hochul, they made no mention of Adams or his remarks during Tuesday’s roughly 45-minute Zoom call with reporters.
Two senior Biden administration officials, who spoke on the condition that their names not be used, sought to assure the public that the White House was taking the crisis seriously, describing the influx of migrants as “the largest movement of people since the second world war.”
“We are all in this together and we will all continue to work on this issue together,” one of the officials said during the call.
They outlined a public awareness campaign intended to urge migrants to apply for asylum as well as work permits. As part of that effort, the administration plans to send 50 staffers to help the city with the asylum and work permit process.
The federal officials said they were also on the cusp of finalizing a deal to house…
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