ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday implored President Joe Biden to take urgent action to help her state absorb a surge of international migrants who have strained resources and filled homeless shelters — putting some Democrats in a vulnerable position in a state usually seen as immigrant-friendly.
In a rare public address, Hochul said she had sent the president a letter asking him to expedite work permits for migrants and provide financial resources to help care for the estimated 100,000 asylum seekers who have come to the state in the last year, mostly to New York City.
“The reality is that we’ve managed thus far without substantive support from Washington, and despite the fact that this is a national, and indeed an inherently federal issue,” Hochul said in speech delivered in Albany. “But New York has shouldered this burden for far too long.”
The public plea comes after months of private requests to the White House.
The central request of the governor’s letter was for the president to speed up the months-long bureaucratic process under which migrants can obtain work permits, and earn enough money to get off of public assistance.
“Let them work,” Hochul said, in remarks directed at the White House.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat, has repeatedly made an identical demand.
Green stickers indicate the row and place number of cots inside the dormitory tent during a media tour of a shelter New York City is setting up to house up to 1,000 migrants in the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. On Thursday, Aug. 24, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul implored President Joe Biden to take urgent action to help her state absorb a surge of international migrants who have strained resources and filled homeless shelters — putting some Democrats in a vulnerable position in a state usually seen as immigrant-friendly. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.
New York…
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