Former NYC council chair says city's migrant crisis shows 'failure' of federal government
Former Democratic NYC council chair said Wednesday on CNN that the city's migrant crisis demonstrated the "failure" of the federal government.
Former New York City Council Chair Corey Johnson told CNN hosts on Wednesday that the city's migrant crisis showed the "failure" of federal government and reacted to groups of parents protesting plans to host migrants in public school gyms.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Johnson about New York City Mayor Eric Adams planning to house migrants in school gyms and about the rift between Adams and President Biden.
"Clearly, the situation has shown that we are in an emergency and New York City is sort of out of space. 62,000 migrants in the last year. Over 120 hotels opened up. 4,200 migrants in the last week. And the clip you just showed of parents being upset, it never should have reached this point. The mayor called for a decompression strategy, trying to figure out ways to spread migrants out, sending people to the suburbs, you have seen county executives and people outside of New York City fighting against that. What all of this shows is really a failure of the federal level, a lack of coordination, not enough support for localities and cities that are dealing with this surge. So understandably, the mayor is saying, ‘I need some help here,’" Johnson said.
The New York Post reported on Monday that migrants will be housed in six school gyms in New York City.
Former New York City Council chair said Wednesday that the city's migrant crisis shows "failure" of the federal government. (Screenshot/CNN/CNNThisMorning)
"There was a $350 million pot of FEMA money that cities could apply for. New York City has already incurred well over $1 billion in costs to house 62,000 migrants and has only been awarded $30 million from FEMA. The costs associated with this is going to bloom out to $4.2 billion over the next year. It is an untenable situation. We are a city of immigrants. And we're that welcomes all people, but clearly this has become a toxic situation without much help from the federal government," Johnson said.
Johnson also said he believed Adams was right to demand help from the Biden administration and responded to comments from Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who said Adams was doing the "very thing he decried" by sending migrants out of the city.
"When we say we are a sanctuary city, we welcome immigrants, we do not go after undocumented people, we are city that does not do things that we have seen in other cities across the country in having I.C.E. agents outside where people are trying to get help. That’s what we mean. This is an unprecedented crisis that is driven by violence in Central America and Mexico and is now overwhelming cities, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York has been the epicenter of it. So we are a city that is welcoming, but we need help from the federal government. We need coordination. And we are not getting that right now," Johnson said.
Adams said in April that the migrant crisis under the Biden Administration has "destroyed" New York City.
Mayor Eric Adams is pictured during briefing at the Javits Federal Building on April 17, 2023. ((Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
"One other crazy fact is that some of these cities in Texas where Governor Abbott is busing people here, flying people there, they are taking FEMA money that they are receiving from FEMA to help migrants and using that money to pay for bus tickets and plane tickets to send people there. That’s not the intention of that FEMA money. And again it shows a lack of coordination, a lack of help from the federal government. So Mayor Adams, I think, is right in saying give us some help here. We can’t do this alone," he continued.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., said New York was "bursting at the seams" with migrants and insisted Adams was doing the "very best he can."
MANHATTAN - NY - 05/02/2023 - New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks to family members of fallen NYPD Officers while attending the NYPD Memorial Day Ceremony where new names were added to the Memorial Wall located in the lobby of the headquarters. ((Photo by Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images))
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"Hearing the numbers going down is good news, but it’s small comfort to us because the word we’re getting is that the majority of these individuals who are crossing, it’s still high numbers, are coming to New York State. And we already have over 61,000, over 40,000 housed in New York City. They’re bursting at the seams and Mayor Adams is doing the very best he can in a difficult situation," Hochul said.