NYC migrants shelter in basement; Adams calls for sanctuary law change

[KARAH RUCKER]

BEHIND THIS DOOR –

INSIDE A FURNITURE STORE’S BASEMENT –

40 MIGRANTS TOOK SHELTER.

VIDEO RECORDED BY THE OWNER EBOU SARR SHOWS THE SPACE THAT HELD 14 BUNK BEDS AND 13 MATTRESSES ON THE FLOOR.

74 MIGRANTS TOTAL WOULD ALTERNATE TURNS –

SHELTERING IN THE QUEEN’S BASEMENT – SHARING THE SMALL SPACE AND BEDS.

UNTIL RECENTLY –

WHEN “NOTICE TO VACATE” SIGNS WERE PLASTERED AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING WHERE MIGRANTS WOULD PARK DOZENS OF E-BIKES AS THEY SLEPT OVERNIGHT.

A NEIGHBOR – FILED A COMPLAINT OVER THE EBIKES BEING A FIRE RISK.

WHICH LED TO THE MIGRANTS GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE STORE.

THE FURNITURE STORE OWNER RECEIVED TWO VIOLATIONS FOR RUNNING THE UNSANCTIONED MIGRANT SHELTER.

BUT THE OWNER STANDS BY ALLOWING THE MIGRANTS TO STAY.

EXPRESSING THE HARDSHIPS EACH ONE GOES THROUGH.

SOME MIGRANTS WHO WERE SHELTERING INSIDE THE STORE –

SAY THEY NOW TRY TO SLEEP IN THE SUBWAY STATION.

AS THEY SCRAMBLE FOR SHELTER.

[STORE OWNER]

They don’t want to go. They don’t want to go through that again because it’s like, this morning most of them called me, they said what they’ve been through is, they have never been through that last night. They’ve been through hell last night trying to find a place, you know, to stay. And they were, they were fine. We were fine. We were just, you know, doing what we have to do.”

[KARAH RUCKER]

65 THOUSAND ASYLUM SEEKERS ARE CURRENTLY IN NEW YORK CITY’S SYSTEM RECEIVING SERVICES AND HOUSING.

WHILE THAT’S A BIG NUMBER –

IT’S ONLY A FRACTION OF THE MORE THAN 180 THOUSAND MIGRANTS IN THE CITY.

THE MAJORITY OF THEM – ARE IN NEED OF BASIC NECESSITIES –

AS THEY AWAIT COURT DATES IN A BACKLOG OF ASYLUM CLAIMS.

THE SHORTAGE OF HOUSING – MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS – IS A PAIN POINT THAT IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE AS THE GROWING DEMAND FURTHER SHRINKS THE CITY’S SUPPLY.

[ERIC ADAMS]

We have an inventory issue in the city and people should not be living in unsafe environments. We’re going to do our job to investigate them, give them the appropriate shelter system. But the reality is with 180,000 people entering the city also looking for housing, over 65,000 currently in our system, if we don’t build more, we’re going to be building more problems.”

[KARAH RUCKER]

MAYOR ADAMS SAYS ITS NOT ONLY A LACK OF HOUSING CONTRIBUTING TO A GROWING MIGRANT CRISIS –

BUT LACK OF OPPORTUNITY AS THOUSANDS AWAIT WORK PERMITS.

[ERIC ADAMS]

How about taking those thousand people, training them for all these jobs we have available, so they’re not sitting around all day every day for months? There’s a human element to this. You don’t have to be a behavioral scientist to state that we’re creating a terrible environment.”

[KARAH RUCKER]

IT’S NOT THE ONLY PART OF THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM MAYOR ADAMS HAS RECENTLY EXPRESSED FRUSTRATIONS WITH.

THE DEMOCRATIC MAYOR WANTS CHANGES MADE TO A DECADES-OLD DEMOCRATIC POLICY – A “SANCTUARY CITY LAW” THAT OFFERS CERTAIN PROTECTIONS TO MIGRANTS IN CITIES ILLEGALLY.

NEW YORK CITY IS A SANCTUARY CITY.

MAYOR ADAMS IS CHALLENGING A PORTION OF THE POLICY THAT PROHIBITS THE CITY FROM INVOLVING OR ALERTING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS – OR ICE – IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS TO PROTECT MIGRANTS FROM POTENTIAL DEPORTATION.

BUT ADAMS WANTS TO COOPERATE WITH FEDERAL OFFICIALS WHEN MIGRANTS COMMIT CRIMES IN THE CITY.

[ERIC ADAMS]

“I don’t believe people who are violent in our city should have the privilege of being in our city.”

“Like the individual did a serious crime, then got out and assaulted and did a robbery, you don’t have the right to be in our city and tarnish the overwhelming number i hear following the rules.”

[KARAH RUCKER]

THIS WEEK, WE TOLD YOU THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS BELIEVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS A “VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM” ACCORDING TO A NEW MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY POLL.

YOU CAN FIND OUR REPORT AT SAN.COM

THE POLL’S RELEASE COMES AS PRESIDENT BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL BE AT THE BORDER THURSDAY.

THE ROOT OF THE CRISIS – THAT IS FELT ALL THE WAY UP TO NEW YORK CITY.