During a recent appearance at the University at Buffalo, Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked about migrants arriving in upstate counties reportedly with little warning and whether they would soon arrive in other communities.
She said they had a legal right to be in America and seek asylum.
“A lot of people are saying the sky is falling before anything has even happened,” Hochul told reporters. “The vast, vast majority of these people (are) simply seeking legal humanitarian relief. They’re here legally. They’re absolutely here legally. They have a right to seek asylum in this country based on what they’ve had to endure in their home countries.”
Fox News took notice, seizing on the “legally” part.
“Hochul defends NYC controversial migrant bussing program as lawsuits mount: ‘They’re absolutely here legally,’ ” read a headline on the cable news site.
Upstate officials have criticized how the Biden and Hochul administrations have handled migrant arrivals in New York, and some have tried to block them from heading from New York City to their communities. New York City has sued more than 30 local governments, mostly in upstate counties, that have fought plans to locate migrants within their borders, calling the moves unconstitutional.
Because her comment made national news, and because this issue is so contentious, we asked experts whether the governor is correct that migrants who have come over the U.S. southern border and have arrived in New York state are “absolutely here legally.”
We spoke with six experts in immigration law, and they all told us that while it’s impossible to know the status of every migrant, U.S. laws and treaties state that people who have a credible fear of returning to their home countries have the right to cross the border and seek asylum. They also pointed to a Biden administration rule that took effect on May 11, which limits the circumstances in which people seek asylum….
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