Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor Eric Adams
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday released “The Road Forward: Blueprint to Address New York City’s Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis,” a comprehensive approach outlining the next phase of the city’s response to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis resulting from the surge of asylum seekers arriving in the five boroughs since last spring. As the number of asylum seekers arriving in New York City since last April tops 50,000—with more than 30,000 currently in the city’s care—Adams announced he will create the Office of Asylum Seeker Operations (OASO) to focus solely on coordinating the city’s continued response with a focus on resettlement and legal services, as well as a new 24/7 arrival center for asylum seekers.
The new OASO will oversee inter-agency coordination, manage advocacy to state and federal governments, and lead the following initiatives to help newly arrived asylum seekers chart a course towards self-sufficiency and long-term resettlement:
- Emergency Housing, Long-Term Housing, and Resettlement: The city will explore potential short- and long-term strategies regarding housing, including partnerships with religious institutions and exploring innovative ways to finance new affordable housing. The city is also launching an innovative pilot with The Center for Discovery and SUNY Sullivan to offer 100 asylum seekers the opportunity to live at the SUNY Sullivan campus and receive workforce training as they move through the federal work authorization process. Finally, the city will engage national non-profits and houses of worship to offer asylum seekers a wider array of relocation choices, including pre-vetted cities and municipalities that welcome asylum seekers.
- Workforce Development: Currently, asylum seekers are federally mandated to apply for work permits, which can mean years of waiting before a permit is granted and issued. As the city continues to advocate for changes on the federal level to expedite work authorizations, the city will help asylees understand the process to move as quickly as possible through it, and ensure they are ready to obtain employment when they are legally authorized to do so. In addition, the city will provide Occupational Safety and Health Administration training in a variety of in-demand industries, including health care and construction, to further prepare asylum seekers for employment.
- Legal Services: To ensure asylum seekers are equipped to better navigate the immigration process and avoid immigration services fraud, the city will develop a centralized entry point system to help asylum seekers navigate the federal immigration process. This will include a coordinated strategy to ensure asylum seekers are aware of important dates and deadlines regarding their case, and connections to appropriate services, such as orientation sessions and pro se (self-help) application assistance events.
- Engaging All New Yorkers: Faith based groups, community organizations, and philanthropic and corporate partners, as well as every day New Yorkers have stepped up since the beginning of this crisis, providing support in the form of food, clothing, shelter, information, workforce development, health care, education, language instruction, job training, resources, and more. The city will hold a series of roundtables with stakeholders to learn directly from them and devise new ways they can participate. Additionally, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City’s Asylum Seeker Relief Fund will continue working to raise $25 million from philanthropic organizations and corporations to support the city’s collective response.
- Interstate and Interagency Coordination and Engagement: OASO will convene other cities and localities facing similar issues to advocate for more decisive action on the federal level to address the asylum seeker crisis.
