New York City is giving free plane tickets to leave the nation’s largest metro area because it has run out of space for migrants, a city spokesperson told The City.
The city has opened a “reticketing center” where they’re offering flights for migrants to go to any destination in the world, according to The City. The policy offers New York City a cheaper solution than sheltering migrants long-term, according to Politico.
The program is also giving migrants getting evicted from city shelters a place to go since the city began evicting some aliens after 30 days, The City reported.
“With no sign of a decompression strategy in the near future, we have established a reticketing center for migrants,” Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for New York City Hall told The City. “Here, the city will redouble efforts to purchase tickets for migrants to help them take the next steps in their journeys, and it helps us triage operations at The Roosevelt for new arrivals.”
The city has roughly 65,000 migrants under its care, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Anne Williams‑Isom, said Tuesday.
“When you are out of room, that means you’re out of room,” Adams told reporters Tuesday. “Every year, my relatives show up for Thanksgiving, and they want to all sleep at my house. There’s no more room. That’s where we are right now.”
But Adams is receiving some pushback from city officials who aren’t happy with his policies. “What we’ve witnessed from this administration — even if they’re not directly saying ‘you’ve got to get out of here’ — is that they’ve consistently created hysteria and chaos and confusion and have not used a tone of inclusivity and welcome,” New York City Council member Shahana Hanif said in an interview, according to Politico.
Adams spent $50,000 between April 2022 and April 2023 to transport 114 migrant households to countries in South America, Texas, Florida and one to China, Politico reported in June, citing information obtained through a public information request.
The large flow of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally continues at the southern and northern borders. In fiscal year 2023, the number of illegal crossings nationwide has surpassed 2 million, according to federal data.
Jennie Taer on October 27, 2023
