Joe Biden faces pressure from New York Democrats over migrant influx 

WASHINGTON — The influx of asylum-seeking migrants arriving in New York has opened up  President Joe Biden to criticism and pleas for help from an unlikely source — his Democratic allies in the state.

As New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul scramble to secure emergency housing for thousands of migrants who have come to New York City, the White House has pledged to increase emergency funding to the state.

Both Hochul and Adams have said they are in constant communication with Biden administration officials, pushing for actions they believe the administration can take without a lengthy congressional battle. But the back-and-forth has placed Biden on the receiving end of blistering criticism from Adams.

"The president and the White House have failed this city,” Adams told reporters in April just days before Biden announced his 2024 reelection bid.

Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College in Manhattan, said the federal response to New York’s migrant surge has the potential to work against Biden in the presidential election if the situation does not improve in the coming weeks and months.

“It certainly raises eyebrows that the New York City mayor is attacking Biden, and rather vociferously,” Muzzio said. “It will be used by Biden’s opponents against him in the campaign. Here, you have the mayor of the largest city in the United States lambasting the president. I don’t know what the long-term impact is going to be, but it can’t be good.”

New York City officials reported last week there were 44,700 migrants being housed in emergency shelters. The city has set up 150 emergency shelters, but the overwhelming number of migrants arriving on buses from Texas has forced the Adams administration to look to surrounding counties to accept migrants.

Riverhead, others seek to block migrants

In response to Adams’ relocation efforts, more than two dozen localities in the state, including the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, have passed emergency orders aimed at blocking the arrival of migrants. Many of the orders are under challenge in federal court by groups such as the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The Republican-led Suffolk County Legislature last week announced plans to hire an attorney to examine legal options to prevent the placement of asylum-seekers.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, issued an emergency order Friday that does not block the arrival of migrants, but says the state should coordinate the response and choose federal and state sites to place migrants.

Amid resistance to accepting migrants, Hochul has walked a careful line between supporting Adams and not directly criticizing Biden as she presses for additional federal support.

Hochul, Adams push for federal assistance

In a letter to Biden on May 12, Hochul requested federal assistance in “constructing and operating temporary housing on military installations,” citing “the size of the humanitarian crisis.”

Hochul continued: “The State lacks the infrastructure, facilities, and resources necessary to meet the immediate demand to house and meet other basic needs of the large numbers of migrant arrivals.” 

Hochul and Adams joined Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Dan Goldman (D- Brooklyn) at a news conference in Brooklyn on May 22 as all four officials urged the Biden administration to waive the six-month waiting period for asylum applicants to receive temporary work permits.

“In New York City, throughout our state and across the country, we have thousands of unfilled jobs,” Adams said.

Nadler and Goldman are among 13 congressional Democrats from New York who co-signed a letter to Biden on May 12 urging him to ease the work permitting restrictions for asylum-seekers. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, also signed the letter.

“Cities and states across the country desperately need workers, and millions of people in this country deserve dignified labor and a chance at rebuilding their lives,” the letter states.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last Tuesday that the administration would add $300 million in emergency funding for New York and other cities experiencing an influx of migrants, on top of the $200 million previously allocated.

Adams has said the city anticipates it could cost up to $4 billion to provide shelter for the migrants over the course of this year.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejando Mayorkas has said he anticipates the number of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to decline as the Biden administration enforces new rules requiring migrants to apply for asylum online or in other countries such as Mexico, instead of at the U.S. border.

The new rules were enacted as the pandemic-era Title 42 restrictions expired May 11. The rules, put in place by the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump and renewed by the Biden administration, allowed border agents to immediately turn away asylum-seekers for public health reasons.

White House: Congressional action needed

“When it comes to the cities, we're doing everything that we can,” Jean-Pierre said. “Of course, we would want to do more, but we have to have Congress to act as well.”

The Republican-led House and the Democratic majority Senate have yet to come to any agreement on immigration legislation, and passage of immigration reform has eluded both chambers for decades.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) in an interview accused the White House of “passing the buck” to Congress, noting House Republicans this month passed a border security package aimed at reducing the flow of migrants. Senate Democrats so far have not taken up the bill, which calls for completion of a massive southern border wall and the hiring of 22,000 new Border Patrol agents.

Garbarino on Thursday filed legislation calling on the federal government to “consult with governors and mayors” before any resettlement of asylum seekers occurs within their jurisdictions. Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) and Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) are co-sponsors.

“President Biden is the head of the Democratic Party. If he thinks that Congress should act, maybe he should tell Senator Schumer it’s time for him to act,” Garbarino said.

Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Politico has reported that Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, backs legislation proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate's No. 2 Democrat.

Durbin's bill focuses on immediate needs at the southern border such as increased funding to hire new immigration judges to address the backlog in asylum cases and additional funding for Border Patrol personnel.

The plan also calls on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide a plan to Congress for coordinating efforts among government agencies and nonprofits providing services to migrants.

“American communities and federal officials need our assistance today, and this proposal will provide the resources needed to secure our border and meet the urgent needs of our communities,” Durbin said in a statement.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, told reporters this month he believed Biden could respond to some of the issues at the border through executive action to circumvent any slow crawl of legislation through Congress.

“These are all things the administration can fix without having to get" authorization from Congress, Thune said.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.