The Biden administration still won’t say who, if anyone, has been selected to help New York City with its ever-worsening migrant crisis — nearly a month after promising a liaison.
The pledge to appoint a point person between the federal Department of Homeland Security and Mayor Eric Adams’ beleaguered administration was the only concrete promise extracted from the White House during Hizzoner’s trip to Washington, DC, on July 27.
Yet more than three weeks on, a spokeswoman for DHS could only point The Post to a federal team sent to assess conditions in the Big Apple on Aug. 9, although she vowed the Democratic-controlled agency would “continue to collaborate with city and state officials and call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”
Even City Hall, led by Adams, a Democrat, is still in the dark.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to identify the person appointed to the federal “liaison” for New York City’s migrant crisis. Robert Miller“We have not received an update on [DHS] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas’ suggestion to designate a DHS liaison to New York City,” an Adams administration rep acknowledged Tuesday.
The lack of serious response to the Big Apple’s crisis infuriated local officials — including many Democrats.
“Maybe the liaison is stuck in traffic on the BQE,” City Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) said sarcastically, referring to Brooklyn’s notoriously traffic-clogged roadway.
Councilman Bob Holden (D-Queens) added that the promised liaison “belongs on the side of a milk carton: MISSING; maybe we can get a description of him so we can find out where he is and rescue him, if he needs to be rescued.
“Look, we need real policy changes and a real decompression strategy, but that doesn’t happen without a real partnership between our local, state, and federal governments.”
“Maybe his name is Waldo,” Holden quipped.
A DHS spokeswoman told The Post that the department will “continue to collaborate with city and state officials and call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.” AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File“We need a border to be fixed, we need answers to where we’re going to put the migrants and we need, certainly, a plan — and, as of today, we have none of the above,” he added more seriously.
All told, more than 101,000 migrants have arrived in the five boroughs since the crisis first erupted in the early months of 2022 — with an estimated 58,500 living in city-run shelters and other facilities.
Migrants arriving at Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal on Aug. 4, 2023. Robert Mecea
The city recently opened a migrant “tent city” shelter on Randall’s Island to house migrants. New York Post
Migrants waiting outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan on July 31, 2023. Matthew McDermott
A bus of migrants arriving at the Randall’s Island shelter on Aug. 20, 2023. Stephen Yang for the New York PostAfter repeated warnings by Adams that the cost to care for asylum-seekers in the city could balloon to $12 billion over three years, the White House finally agreed to lease Floyd Bennett Airfield in Brooklyn to house 2,500 migrants, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday — adding the state is doling out another $20 million to help asylum seekers find work.
Hochul also announced more help to get asylum seekers legal work status. She said the state would give New York City another $20 million so more than 30,000 asylum seekers can file for work permits to get jobs and exit already overflowing shelters.
