Governor Hochul's Letter to President Biden Can be Viewed Here
Governor Hochul: “The state has deployed enormous resources toward New York City's valiant efforts to shelter and support these nearly 100,000 migrants who have already arrived here. The reality is, we've managed thus far without substantive support from Washington…But New York has shouldered this burden for far too long.”
Hochul: “That's why today, I have sent a letter to President Biden, formally requesting immediate, executive action in four key areas. First, expedited work authorization so we can get these people out of shelters and into the jobs. Financial support for federal housing vouchers, schools, health care, legal services, case management, and shelter for us to provide to these asylum seekers. The use of more federal facilities to construct new temporary shelters. And reimbursement for the cost of our National Guard, which have been on the ground at these shelters throughout the state since last year.”
Hochul: “New Yorkers…at the end of the day, we will continue to be that beacon of hope and freedom from oppression that has drawn people here and made us so incredibly fascinating. We are a state that cherishes our diversity and our inclusiveness – and we always will. For me, the answer to these two crises, this humanitarian crisis and our workforce crisis, is so crystal clear and common sense. Let them get the work authorizations. Let them work legally. Let them work.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul called on President Biden to take executive action and direct additional federal resources to the State of New York as it manages the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers arriving in New York. In a formal request sent to the White House this morning, Governor Hochul outlined specific, outstanding requests, including expedited work authorizations for asylum seekers, financial assistance for New York City and New York State, the use of federal land and facilities for temporary shelter sites, and Title 32 designation to provide federal funding for the nearly 2,000 New York National Guard members currently providing logistical and operational support across the State.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon. I'm speaking to you today so you're aware of what your state government is doing to address the unprecedented migrant crisis. I'm fully aware that New Yorkers are concerned that over the past year, more than 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in our state, requiring an historic humanitarian response.
Moments ago, I issued a letter to the Biden Administration formally requesting that it take executive action to address New York's migrant crisis. I'll detail those actions in a moment, but first, let's talk about how we got here. It all started at our nation's southern border when the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, made the despicable decision to load migrants on the buses and shipped them out to score cheap political points, treating these individuals as pawns.
Since that time, the state has deployed enormous resources toward New York City's valiant efforts to shelter and support these nearly 100,000 migrants who have already arrived here. The reality is, we've managed thus far without substantive support from Washington – and despite the fact that this is a national, indeed an inherently federal, issue. But New York has shouldered this burden for far too long.
Since the first migrants began arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal last year, the City and State have poured tremendous funds, billions of dollars and energy into helping them. The City has been helped by the state to manage this in partnership with our State Legislature. And in our Budget, we allocated over $1 billion now, upwards of $1.5 billion, for providing shelter, National Guard, public health, transit, case management, and legal services to asylum seekers – especially the housing. That's in addition to the over 200 shelters and hotels that are stood up by the City of New York, with financial support from the State.
But now, many of you are starting to see open space turn into enormous temporary shelters, buses arriving at hotels in several Upstate counties. And undoubtedly, you have many questions. Why are they coming? Why New York City? Why are these large shelters being built, and will they move to communities throughout the entire State of New York?
The bottom line is you're wondering, what does this mean for me and my community, and what are our government leaders doing to address it? Exactly two years ago today, I became your Governor. I work every single day on your behalf to address the issues facing all of us. And that's why I'm speaking to you directly today, the people of New York, to give you the answers you deserve.
These individuals are literally fleeing for their lives – political strife, gang violence, extreme poverty, and persecution. They're coming to this country with the same goal that my once impoverished Irish grandparents did, just to build a better life for themselves and their families. And while my grandpa started work in this country as a migrant farm worker, he and millions of others who came before us lived the American dream that has beaconed people from across the globe.
He was welcomed by the Statue of Liberty. But he lived that dream because he could work here in his adopted country. So to answer the question, people are coming here to seek asylum status here in the United States so they can be safe and ultimately work to support themselves. Why New York City? First of all, we know New York City has a long history, a proud history, of embracing immigrants.
In addition, in 1981, the City of New York and a Coalition for the Homeless signed an agreement that the City would provide shelter to anyone who seeks it. This is an agreement that does not apply to the state's other 57 counties, which is one of the reasons we cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants, nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will.
That said, I do believe we have a moral imperative to help these new arrivals. I'm grateful to the counties that have welcomed and supported the migrants, and we'll continue to partner with them. But to level with New Yorkers, bearing much needed changes at the border, there does not appear to be a solution to this federal problem anytime soon.
And that's exactly why I need to talk to you today. This crisis originated with the federal government, and it must be resolved through the federal government. The borders and decisions about who can work are solely determined by the federal government. And since July of 2022 in our first meeting with the President, Mayor Adams and I have championed the idea of a federal designation that would allow the individuals already here in New York the ability to work to support themselves and their families.
The Mayor and I said that and in countless meetings with Congress, the White House cabinet members, at rallies with labor, press conferences, and working with business. What we've said all along is just let them work and help us out financially.
That's why today, I have sent a letter to President Biden, formally requesting immediate, executive action in four key areas.
First, expedited work authorization so we can get these people out of shelters and into the jobs. Financial support for federal housing vouchers, schools, health care, legal services, case management, and shelter for us to provide to these asylum seekers. The use of more federal facilities to construct new temporary shelters. And reimbursement for the cost of our National Guard, which have been on the ground at these shelters throughout the state since last year. You can read my letter to the President at www.governor.ny.gov.
Not only will the ability to give them employment allow them to get through this crisis, it helps solve another crisis that we are experiencing in every corner of the state. I travel the state a lot. I've spoken to many on farms, and businesses, and hotel owners, and restaurant owners, and nursing home owners, and hospital proprietors. They all tell me, “Governor, what can you do about the shortage of workers?”
We have countless unfilled jobs that are begging for someone to just take them. So we need to do something. And here's what we can do. New Yorkers from across the state –Democrats and Republicans – have asked me for help placing these migrants into jobs, jobs that have gone unfilled for too long. We are ready to act as soon as these migrants receive work authorization. But right now, because we've been waiting a very long time, the State Department of Labor, will be launching a new program this September to immediately place asylum seekers in jobs just as soon as they're legally able to work.
And we're going to go a step further, and I'm ordering the Department of Labor to proactively connect asylum seekers with potential employers in anticipation of them receiving the work authorization before they're already authorized. So let's just start focusing on that crisis as well. And today, our quest continues to squarely tell the White House, “Let them work.”
Until that happens, we'll continue to need funding and sites from the federal government to help cover the massive, massive expenses of sheltering tens of thousands of people in our country, in our state today.
But also ultimately, we need comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. And here's how New Yorkers can help. Contact your local Member of Congress. If you're represented by a Republican, please ask them to stop politicizing people's lives, stop fighting President Biden's comprehensive, smart solutions, and work together toward solving this. If you're represented by a Democrat, ask them to support my plan for more engagement and direct support from the Administration.
New Yorkers, you know, at the end of the day, we will continue to be that beacon of hope and freedom from oppression that has drawn people here and made us so incredibly fascinating. We are a state that cherishes our diversity and our inclusiveness – and we always will. For me, the answer to these two crises, this humanitarian crisis and our workforce crisis, is so crystal clear and common sense. Let them get the work authorizations. Let them work legally. Let them work.
I say, New Yorkers, thank you for listening. I promise to keep you engaged and involved. And as your Governor, as I promised two years ago today, I will always protect the interests of all of you and your families. And I am confident that if the federal government steps up and does its part, we will see this crisis through.
As New Yorkers, we've been through a lot together, and we will get through this together again. Thank you.