State Sen. Martins: NY sent inspectors to SUNY Old Westbury campus to check if it's suitable to house migrants

News 12 was told no determination has been made yet whether it was deemed acceptable.

News 12 Staff

May 18, 2023, 11:41 PM

Updated 568 days ago

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State Sen. Jack Martins confirmed to News 12 that the state sent inspectors to the SUNY Old Westbury campus to see if it is suitable to house migrants.
News 12 was told no determination has been made yet whether it was deemed acceptable.
Martins says migrants coming to Nassau County schools is a possibility because New York declared itself a sanctuary state, which he says he opposes.
"Now communities like ours, like here in Nassau County and elsewhere in New York state, have to deal with the realities of migrants being shipped into our communities without the resources we need to deal with them, without knowing who they are and quite frankly, potentially putting us all at risk," Martins says.
SUNY system administration told News 12 in a statement that, "At Gov. Hochul's direction, we are assessing whether there are SUNY resources available to help with the arrival of asylum seekers."
The Town of Riverhead already declared a state of emergency over an anticipated influx of migrants. Their town supervisor says they don't have the infrastructure to support that many additional residents.