New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced two significant policy updates aimed at supporting migrant families and improving the city’s response to the ongoing influx of asylum seekers. These changes are designed to enhance stability for children’s education and streamline access to critical legal information for migrants.
Effective immediately, families with children in kindergarten through sixth grade will be allowed to remain in their current shelters if they need additional time in the system. This policy change ensures that children can continue attending their current schools, thereby maintaining educational stability and saving the city substantial costs associated with busing students.
In the coming weeks, the city will establish a centralized mail center to ensure that migrants have access to critical legal information, including updates on asylum, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and work authorization applications. This initiative aims to provide consistent access to important correspondence, regardless of the migrants’ location within the city.
Mayor Adams also released new data on the city’s response to the influx of over 223,000 migrants and asylum seekers since spring 2022. NYC Health + Hospitals’ case managers have conducted over 700,000 exit planning meetings, helping migrants identify needs and connect with legal, medical, and social services. The city’s Asylum Application Help Center has submitted more than 84,000 applications for work authorization, asylum, and TPS, with 70 percent of eligible adults completing or receiving approval for work authorization.
Since the introduction of intensive case management services in October 2023, there has been a 42 percent increase in the number of families with children moving out of shelters each week. This progress has enabled the city to close or plan the closure of several shelters, including the tented humanitarian relief center on Randall’s Island.
“Over the past two years, our teams have accomplished the Herculean task of providing compassionate care for a population twice the size of Albany and saving taxpayers billions of dollars,” said Mayor Adams. “We’ve focused on helping people take their next steps out of shelter, and that focus is paying off. The new policies we’re implementing today will build on our successes, save taxpayers millions, and help even more migrants take their next steps towards fulfilling their American Dream.”
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, praised the new policies, stating, “We commend Mayor Adams and his administration for listening to advocates and immigrant New Yorkers. These new rules will ensure the educational and emotional stability of children in shelters and provide migrants with critical legal updates. However, we urge the city to invest in stable, affordable housing as a long-term solution and to end unnecessary shelter evictions.”
Since the first buses of asylum seekers arrived in the spring of 2022, the city’s Asylum Application Help Center has helped complete more than 84,000 applications for work authorization, TPS, and asylum. The city has also purchased over 47,000 tickets to help migrants reach their preferred destinations. More than 164,000 migrants who requested services from the city — or approximately 74 percent — have taken the next steps in their journeys towards self-sufficiency.
Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
