Adelphi associate dean weighs in on Suffolk's emergency order issued in wake of migrant crisis
The order comes as New York City struggles to cope with an influx of migrants and looks to other municipalities for help.
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New 12 Long Island spoke with an associate dean at Adelphi University about Suffolk County issuing an emergency order in response to the migrant crisis in New York.
The county said the state needs to take the lead on handling the migrants.
"Let's see what's going to happen," said Dr. Sandra Castro, Associate Dean in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies at Adelphi University, about the dozens of asylum seekers being bused into New York City and whether some of them could also be sent to Suffolk county.
"No agreement has been reached, so there aren't any busloads on their way to Suffolk County or Nassau County," Castro said. "These emergency orders feed into the hysteria and fear against the immigrants. They encourage extremists and drive immigrants into the shadows, which hurts everyone."
The emergency order issued Friday by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says that hotels, motels and shelters would need the permission from the county to engage in a contract with other municipalities to house asylum seekers.
The order comes as New York City struggles to cope with an influx of migrants and looks to other municipalities for help.
According to Bellone, Suffolk is facing a shortage of temporary and permanent housing options as it works to support homeless people.
News 12 Long Island reached out to New York City Mayor Eric Adams' Office for comment on Saturday. Fabien Levy, Adams' Office Press Secretary, sent a statement that reads:
“As we’ve been saying for months, we are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, having opened more than 150 emergency sites, including nine large-scale humanitarian relief centers, to serve over 70,000 asylum seekers that have arrived in our city. Every day, we receive hundreds of additional asylum seekers and we are out of space. New York City has done and will continue to do its part, but we need counties, cities, and towns across the state to do their part as well, especially when New York City is willing to pay for shelter, food, and more. In most areas, we’re not even asking localities to help manage 1/4 of 1% of the asylum seekers that have arrived in New York City, and again with New York covering the costs. Many elected officials, community groups, and faith institutions have been overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic about welcoming these new New Yorkers to their cities and towns. We are grateful for their support and that of the many elected officials who know that new immigrants have been and will continue to grow local economies and enrich local communities. We will continue to communicate with local elected officials as we open move to other localities.”
