New Issue Brief: Better Options for NYC’s Asylum-Seeker Crisis

Local leaders should seek to re-define right to shelter and enlist the help of generous New Yorkers before the cost of housing migrants becomes unsustainable 

NEW YORK, NY – Since the summer of 2022, over 70,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City. The city’s uniquely expansive right to shelter law requires it provide immediate shelter to those who request it, regardless of the number of applicants or the availability of resources. Consequently, the shelter population has swelled by about 70% in a single year, to approximately 83,000. The approximately 40,000 migrants living in city shelters are costing taxpayers over $1.5 billion per year, enough to hire over 10,000 police officers or pay down city employee pension debt. Overall, the city estimates it will need over $4 billion to cover costs through next summer, with Governor Hochul only committing $1 billion. Absent an infusion of state and federal funds, New York City residents will be likely face higher taxes and cuts to public services to make up the difference. 

In a new issue brief, lifelong Queens resident and Manhattan Institute director of state and local policy, John Ketcham, and Venezuelan immigrant and Manhattan Institute graduate fellow, Daniel Di Martino, propose several moderate short-term solutions to mitigate and fund New York’s migrant crisis. First, the city must mitigate the flow of migrants into city shelters before the cost of housing them becomes unsustainable. Some proposals, such as requiring shelter applicants live in the city for a period of time, would likely face viable legal challenges. However, Ketcham and Di Martino discuss ways to restrict shelter eligibility within the limits of the current right to shelter law. Second, Mayor Adams should launch a New York City Welcome Corps to match asylum seekers with willing New Yorkers, who would sponsor and host them. This would alleviate some cost to the city. 

New York City has served as the gateway to America for centuries, welcoming millions of immigrants from distant nations. But current policies have turned an otherwise practicable flow of immigration into the greatest immigration challenge in generations. Right to shelter has turned New York City’s job magnet into a welfare magnet for migrants. The city cannot realistically provide housing at no cost to a potentially limitless number of migrants. Thus, local leaders should seek to limit the scope of the right to shelter and enlist the help of generous New Yorkers, rather than force the cost on all taxpayers. 

Click here to view the full issue brief.