New York City Mayor Eric Adams, struggling with an influx of migrants sent from other states, said Wednesday that asylum-seekers are not covered under the city's right-to-shelter law, which provides shelter to anyone who asks.
Earlier this month, Adams said more than 36,000 migrants have been sent to New York since the spring and that 24,000 remain. He has decried the move as "unfair" because it is draining the city's resources. New York City has declared itself a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants.
"We don't believe asylum-seekers fall into the whole right-to-shelter conversation," Adams said Wednesday morning during an interview on WABC-AM. "This is a crisis that must be addressed based on what was created on this national platform."
In September, Adams came under heavy criticism for saying the city needed to reassess its right-to-shelter law, and his administration had to walk back the comments. The Coalition for the Homeless and the Legal Aid Society criticized Adams' comments Wednesday on asylum-seekers.
"Anyone in need of shelter, including asylum-seekers, is entitled to such, as prescribed by multiple long-standing court orders and local law," the group said in a statement on its website. "This is not a responsibility that Mayor Adams can decide to shirk, and he knows better ...
"Flouting the law would accomplish nothing and such a move would only land this administration in front of a judge for contempt. The mayor must clarify his remarks from this morning immediately."
Adams told WABC the federal government is not doing enough to address the crisis at the border, and he said the city needs $1 billion from Washington to help it deal with its immigration problem. But he said the city is fulfilling its obligations.
"We're overrun, but ... we're doing our job," he said. "And people will critique that. ... There's no more room at the inn, and the reason there's no more room at the inn is because the federal government is not doing their job."
He thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and the rest of New York's congressional delegation for helping the city. But he said more needs to be done.
"This must be fixed," Adams said. "It can't be just kicking the can down the road. We have to face this because we are at the end of the road."