Suffolk County legislators will vote to hire lawyer to explore ways to block asylum-seekers from NYC

Suffolk County Republican legislators, during a news conference in Hauppauge on Sunday, said they will hire a lawyer to explore what can be done to block migrants from being placed in Suffolk.

It remains unclear what, if any, steps the county can legally take to block migrants from being placed in Suffolk as hundreds of asylum-seekers arrive in New York City every day. The legislature’s presiding officer, Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), did not offer specifics.

McCaffrey said the 18-member governing body will soon vote on a measure to hire counsel to “pursue any and all legal options available to protect the unfunded location of any asylum-seekers in Suffolk County.”

McCaffrey, who spoke before an audience of protesters and supporters at the William H. Rogers Legislature building, said the legislature has not yet decided who the counsel will be.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday said 42,000 migrants are in the city’s care. That could cost the city $4 billion by next year, he said.

“This is not sustainable for us, and we believe this is not right for the people,” Adams told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart.

New York City is under a legal mandate to provide shelter to whoever needs it.

Adams’ press secretary, Fabien Levy, said in a statement the city is doing its part and it needs surrounding towns, cities and counties to do the same.

“In most areas, we’re not even asking localities to help manage ¼ of 1% of the asylum-seekers that have arrived in New York City, and again with New York covering the costs," he said. "We will continue to communicate with local elected officials as we open more emergency sites.”

Even if the city agreed to pay for the incoming migrants’ housing, McCaffrey said their arrival would still place a strain on other county services and schools.

“We're going to have families that are going to have needs; those needs are going to skew over into our social services that we provide, that the residents of Suffolk County pay for,” McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey said the action was not an “anti-immigration stance” but one designed to protect the county’s finances and resources. The remark drew boos from protesters holding signs bearing the name of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who was stabbed to death by a teenager in Patchogue in 2008.

“Seeking asylum and being a refugee is not illegal,” said Shoshana Hershkowitz, founder of the advocacy group Suffolk County Progressives. “It really isn’t about funding; it’s about bigotry.”

Suffolk County legislators would not be alone in efforts to prevent migrants from being housed within the county's borders.

On Tuesday, Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar signed an executive order forbidding motels and other facilities in the town from accepting migrants from the city.

Judges in Orange and Rockland counties, where New York City has tried to place migrants, have granted local officials’ requests to temporarily suspend a city plan to house several hundred at hotels there. Those policies have been challenged through a federal lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

On Wednesday, Adams’ deputy for health and human services said that although Suffolk and Nassau counties haven’t yet been asked to take migrants, each would be asked at some point. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the state is considering using SUNY campuses as temporary migrant housing.

Legis. Manuel Esteban (R-East Northport), whose online bio says his parents are immigrants from Cuba and Colombia, was one of the few Republican legislators not to attend on Sunday. He noted that those who seek asylum are abiding by a legal process.

“The immigrant population has made many contributions to Suffolk County, including many who started out as asylum-seekers … and who are now community volunteers and business owners," he said.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, in a statement, said: “The public has every right to be angry about the policy failures that led to this crisis but I urge everyone not to direct that rightful frustration at the families who are coming from desperate circumstances and legally seeking asylum." 

With Matthew Chayes and Lisa L. Colangelo

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.