NYC migrants and Eric Adams' health care push

City migrant picture getting out of hand

Appallingly, New York City’s goodness and greatness is being construed as its weakness, now amply demonstrated by the ongoing and unchecked and unabated migrant crisis [“Migrant crisis needs leaders,” Editorial, Aug. 18].

With a record number of asylum seekers from across the globe arriving in New York, a staggering number of over 100,000, nearly doubling the city’s homeless population in almost a blink, is now a reality. Sadly, New York City’s resources are practically exhausted and, worse, hospitals, law enforcement and the sanitation department are likely to buckle under this unsustainable pressure.

Ironically, Main Street folks across our country are struggling from paycheck to paycheck with many families homeless. How truly ironic that there’s hardly any help coming when millions of dollars are being spent and billions more earmarked for migrants pouring across our border in hoards, all at the taxpayers’ expense.

Unfortunately, President Joe Biden’s administration seems to be driving its migrant policies with an eye on voters but without a sustainable basis, and New York is paying a steep price.

It’s about time Mayor Eric Adams put the brakes on this politically churned migrant influx before the city becomes a massive encampment and a poster child of failed federal policies.

How is this allowed to continue indefinitely? We have more than 100,000 migrants entering New York City so far [“Migrant care criticized,” News, Aug. 17]. Billions of tax dollars are being spent on them with no end in sight. Meanwhile, the federal government is doing nothing to stop this. Mayor Eric Adams’ pleas are being ignored by Washington and he is chastised by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

I have never heard of such ridiculousness in my life. Extreme limits on migrants needs to happen like yesterday or almost all of the city will be looking for assistance from Uncle Sam.

One possible solution to the immigration problem is to get the migrants’ personal information and data on worker skills and then pay to fly them home. Once their immigration date comes up, we pay to bring them back for the hearing. It will be way cheaper than housing and feeding them.

An alternate solution would be to have someone sponsor them financially and secure them a job. This will more closely align with our legal immigration program. The asylum excuse that almost everyone uses represents only a small number of the people coming across the border. Everyone else wants to come here for a better life.

Not a problem, but the process needs to be correctly managed. The current situation is not benefiting anyone.

I’m always interested in readers insisting that their relatives came here the “right way” [“Securing Southern border is U.S. duty,” Letters, July 27]. All my grandparents and great-grandparents came in, I guess, the “wrong way.”

Ellis Island records show a ship manifest with a scratched reference to a relative “sponsor” with no reference or guarantee of employment, written or otherwise.

These “illegals” produced me, my father, grandfather, 13 uncles and 10 cousins — about three-quarters of us were veterans, most of whom served in combat. So much for the “wrong way.”

Adams’ health care push upsets retirees

This should be the end of the health care debacle for hundreds of thousands of New York City public service retirees [“Judge blocks health care change in NYC,” News, Aug. 15]. Instead, Mayor Eric Adams plans to appeal and ram the Aetna Medicare “Disadvantage” Plan down our throats.

The mayor’s office insists that the judge’s “decision only creates confusion and uncertainty among our retirees.” Mr. Mayor, you are the one confused. I am one of the retirees who are certain we will continue to prevail.

We refuse to be disenfranchised and automatically enrolled in a for-profit plan that does not meet our individual medical needs or resemble traditional Medicare.

In fact, Health and Human Services, two courts, six judges and MedPAC, an independent committee overseeing Medicare in Congress, all agree. Our legal battle to preserve our promised health care when we retire has already morphed into a national movement. Enough already!

Most city retirees are quite comfortable with the promised medical plan that was offered at retirement. Like me, a retired school secretary from the city Board of Education, many chose to work for the city because of this benefit.

Many who do not have access to a computer or live outside of the city are not even aware of attempts to change it to a Medicare Advantage plan.

To have it changed when most retirees are using their Medicare plan and are happy with their choice of doctors and payments is contrary to what Mayor Eric Adams says. He continues to want to use city taxpayer dollars to appeal this decision.