Deputy Mayor: NYC Now Houses More Undocumented Immigrants than Homeless People.

New York City’s homeless crisis has taken a startling turn. According to a city official, the number of non-citizens seeking shelter in the city now surpasses the number of homeless residents.

During a press conference, New York City Deputy Mayor For Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom revealed that over 100,000 people are currently being sheltered in the city, with the majority being illegal immigrants and other non-citizens seeking long-term stay in the United States.

“With over 50,000 asylum seekers currently in our care at this point, we now have more people seeking U.S. asylum than longtime unhoused New Yorkers in our shelter system,” said Williams-Isom.

Many of these non-citizens arrived in the city after illegally crossing the U.S. southern border and have since made asylum claims or requested legal status while awaiting immigration case rulings.

Since last year, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been relocating illegal immigrants from his state to other parts of the country, particularly Democratic districts like New York City, which have declared themselves as immigration “sanctuary cities.” As a result, New York City has become a major destination for tens of thousands of these individuals, many of whom have remained in the city.

Williams-Isom described the ratio of illegal immigrants to resident homeless people in the city’s shelter system as “sobering.” She revealed that since the Spring of 2022, New York City has taken in 81,200 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, including 2,500 new asylum seekers in the past week.

“Today’s numbers show that we have reached a tipping point,” she stated. “We now have more asylum seekers in our care than longtime New Yorkers who have been in our existing New York City Department of Homeless Services system since we first came in.”

NYC Mayor’s Shelter Strategy

Williams-Isom explained that New York City has opened 176 new shelter sites, including 12 humanitarian relief sites, since last spring. However, she emphasized that the city’s capacity to shelter people is nearly exhausted.

“We will continue to do our part. In fact, we’re doing more than our part,” she declared. “But this is a national humanitarian crisis, and we need sustained and profound support from the federal government in the form of financial aid and national coordination.”

Due to a 1984 court decision known as the “Callahan consent decree,” New York City is obligated to provide shelter for almost all homeless individuals who apply. In light of the influx of illegal immigrants, New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently requested that the court suspend the “Right to Shelter” rule. New York City is just one of many locations…