COLONIE — A group of asylum-seekers driven from New York City arrived at a Colonie hotel early Sunday morning, one of many groups upstate communities are now hosting as the city says it can not handle the continuing influx of tens of thousands of international migrants who have arrived there.
Around 25 men transported from New York City checked into the SureStay Plus by Best Western Hotel on Wolf Road in Colonie sometime after midnight, Colonie Supervisor Peter Crummey said. A handwritten note on a large sheet of paper at the entrance of the hotel Sunday said “Bienviedos, Bem-vindos, Welcome!”
A company called DocGo, which is contracted by New York City, was at the SureStay to assist with logistics — along with at least four security guards to keep the public and media away from the asylum-seekers. The nonprofit Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, as well as attorneys from Albany, were also there to help. A shuttle bus was also taking those newly arrived Sunday to nearby locations, such ShopRite, the post office on Central Avenue and the Albany Public Library’s main branch. The SureStay’s owner was on-site Sunday, and declined to comment.
A man from Venezuela named Angelo, 34, was in the hotel’s lobby Sunday with about six other men, either waiting to speak with attorneys or get on the shuttle bus. Everyone was wearing athletic clothing, some with baseball caps and everyone had a “Guest ID badge” hung around their neck so they could check in and check out.
“We’ve only just arrived, and so far we’ve received barely any information,” Angelo told the Times Union through an interpreter. He added that he’s doing fine, but is tired.
Angelo’s journey through the U.S. started at least a couple of weeks ago in El Paso, Texas, before he said he traveled through Louisiana and up the East Coast to New York City. Once he was there, he said he got vague…
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