New York state lawmakers have no immediate plans to return to Albany to tackle legislation related to the ongoing influx of migrants arriving in New York City, despite facing repeated calls to act from activists, city officials and some lawmakers.
Two weeks ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul floated the idea of a special session at the Capitol as the city continues to struggle to find shelter for newcomers arriving in the five boroughs, including many asylum-seekers.
But the idea has since lost steam.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) says she isn’t planning on having her members return to Albany — at least for now. And Hochul herself is shying away from forcing lawmakers to do so without a plan of action.
“We have no plans to come back,” Senate Democratic spokesperson Mike Murphy said on Monday.
For months, Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and elected state and city officials have urged the federal government to do more to assist with the surge of newcomers — either by sending additional funding or expediting work approvals for asylum seekers. Adams wants President Joe Biden to go a step further and declare a national emergency.
But as Congress remains sharply divided on immigration policy, some advocates and officials are asking Democrat-controlled Albany to step in by allocating more money, stopping local governments from refusing migrant arrivals, or — most controversially — approving some sort of state-level work program for asylum-seekers despite federal resistance.
“If we don’t receive help from the federal government and additional help from the state government, then this is going to come from somewhere, and it’s going to hurt low-income New Yorkers,” Adams said on Sunday on MSNBC.
Adams is already threatening steep budget cuts across city agencies, which he said last week will continue into the winter and spring unless the city receives more federal and state aid to assist with caring for migrants.
But…
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