‘We Have No More Room’: NYC Announces New Shelter Limits for Illegal Immigrants

Hundreds of illegal immigrants seeking asylum line for Immigration Customs Enforcement appointments outside of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City, on June 6, 2023. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

New York City will provide adult illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the United States with 60 days’ notice to find alternative housing and move out of the shelters they'd been provided with.

If the illegal immigrants can’t find any alternative housing by the end of the 60 days, they must reapply for shelter, according to a city press release.

“We stated several months ago that we’ve reached full capacity,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.

“We have no more room in this city.”

According to the new shelter directive, the effort will start in the coming weeks, starting with illegal immigrants “who have been in the city’s care for a significant amount of time.”

They will receive the 60 days notice, as well as “intensified casework services on a rolling basis,” to explore housing options and plan their next steps.

“Each asylum seeker given notice will have multiple touchpoints with case workers over their 60 days to discuss their options and plan their next steps,” according to the city announcement.

The policy will create “critically needed space for arriving families with children seeking asylum,” given that an average of 300-500 illegal immigrants are still arriving each day, the city announcement reads.

Newly arrived illegal immigrants wait in a holding area at the Port Authority bus terminal before being sent off to area shelters and hotels in New York City on May 15, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

More than 90,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, primarily from the U.S. southern border.

Some 54,800 remain in the city’s care, Mr. Adams said in a statement. “For more than a year now, New York City has responded to this crisis alone—we need our state and federal partners to step up.”

Separately, New York City will also be sending out new flyers (pdf) at the U.S. southern border to inform illegal immigrants that the city can’t continue with the level of service it has been providing.

U.S. agents process illegal immigrants who crossed into Arizona from Mexico on May 11, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

“Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.,” the flyer reads.

Over 5.5 Million Illegal Immigrants

New York’s illegal immigrant crisis has been blamed on the Biden administration by Republicans for its apparent unwillingness to secure the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

Over 5.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the United States since President Joe Biden took office.

State authorities in Texas and other parts of the county who have been taking in the majority of illegal border-crossers have been sending them to sanctuary cities like New York, which has seen its social services and shelter systems overwhelmed.

In response to an influx of illegal immigrants, New York City, under Mr. Adams’ administration, opened more than 185 emergency shelters in city-owned facilities, including hotels and old jails, as well as some 13 humanitarian relief centers, which are the first places where illegal immigrants who arrive stay.

The Adams administration in April estimated the city will face some $4.3 billion in costs related to providing shelter, food, clothing, and other services for illegal immigrants through the end of financial year 2024.

Bryan Jung contributed to this report.