A recent survey reveals that the vast majority of New Yorkers are concerned that the illegal immigrant situation would “destroy” the Big Apple.
Over 118,000 illegal immigrants have landed in the city since last year, and 58% of New Yorkers agree with Democratic Mayor Eric Adams’ declaration that this problem would “destroy” the Big Apple, according to a Siena College survey released on Tuesday.
People in the state mostly blame President Biden for the situation, but they also blame other branches of government.
“While other issues in Washington and abroad have largely driven the news cycle over the last few weeks, the influx of migrants to New York remains top of mind for voters, with 84% saying it’s a serious – 57% very serious – problem for the state,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem.”
According to a study done between October 15 and 19 among 1,225 registered voters in the state, the majority of white, black, and Latino voters all think that the crisis would “destroy” the city of New York, as stated by Mayor Eric Adams. Respondents blame state authorities and Vice President Biden for allowing in so many illegal immigrants.
New York’s registered voters are divided on how the state’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, is handling the problem (52% disapprove), with 46% also disapproving of Adams and 64% of Biden.
“Voters disapprove of the job Governor Kathy Hochul is doing to address the migrant influx by 15 points, but they disapprove of the job Adams is doing on the migrant issue by 16 points and they disapprove of the Biden Administration on this issue by a whopping 35 points, including a slight plurality of Democrats,” Greenberg said.
Earlier this month, New York was seeing 600 illegal immigrants enter the city every day.
The city has a “right to shelter” obligation, but officials, including Mayor Adams, are working to suspend that in light of the massive numbers entering the city. In a statement, Adams said it was “abundantly clear that the status quo cannot continue.”
The city instituted a 60-day cap on shelter stays for immigrant families earlier this month, after which they would have to reapply. This change follows a 30-day renewal requirement for single individuals.
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, local officials are debating whether or not to distribute tents to illegal immigration arrivals so that they may sleep in parks and other outdoor locations.
“It’s not ‘if’ people will be sleeping on the streets, it’s when,” Adams said Tuesday. “We are at full capacity. We have to sort of localize it as much as possible. We have to make sure that people have some type of restroom facilities, some type of shower network.”
According to DHS immigration data, the number of illegal immigrant interactions on the southern border was 2.2 million in fiscal year 2022 and 2.06 million in fiscal year 2023. The Washington Examiner claimed that these statistics set a new national record, surpassing the 1.692 million incidents in 1986.
