Nov. 22, 2023
Gabriel Campos
Staff Writer
In April 2022, Texas began a busing initiative to relocate migrants to New York City. Over a year-and-a-half later, more than 116,000 migrants have arrived in New York City, according to Vox News. As a result of the financial strain this has caused, on Sept. 9 New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to cut all city-funded spending by 5%. On Nov. 16, he made another announcement that these plans will include reducing trash pick-ups, making cuts to the city’s pre-K programs and keeping libraries in Brooklyn, Queens and New York closed on Sundays.
Adams said he has no choice but to make these cuts and service reductions because it has been estimated by the administration that the crisis will cost the city upwards of $12 billion over three fiscal years. He has consistently placed blame on migrants for the city’s issues concerning budgets, but financial experts and the the city comptroller said the city had already been facing problems due to overspending and labor contracts.
Another problem facing the city is where to temporarily house incoming migrants. Approximately 63,000 of the 116,700 people currently inhabiting city shelters are asylum-seekers. In response, the city has opened more than 200 emergency sites to house migrants. Among these sites is one on Randall’s Island in Manhattan, which opened in August. The shelter was built to house up to 3,000 people, making it the largest shelter built specifically for migrants.
“I mostly feel bad for the [migrants] since they just want a better life for them and their family.”
History teacher Mr. Spence said the United States has a long history of immigration.
“We saw the migrations in pre-revolutionary war times of people who were looking for religious freedom or economic opportunity in the United States,” Spence said. “At the end of the day, the migrants that are trying to come into our country now come with the same objective as those migrants from before.”
Spence said in the past, migration was regarded by the public as an effort among migrants to pursue a better quality of life.
“Now that [has been] put into this highly politicized perspective of… what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s ethical [and] what’s not ethical, and that’s changing the discourse,” Spence said.
Like Spence, sophomore Michael Monahan said immigrants come to the United States in search of opportunities.
“I mostly feel bad for the [migrants] since they just want a better life for them and their family,” Monahan said.
Monahan, who was born in Peru and immigrated to the United States in 2018, said he knows firsthand the challenges of building a life in a new country.
“Since I waited 11 years to come to the United States, I always thought it was unfair how [immigrants] can just come illegally, but also it’s not their fault since they definitely have different living situations and go through hard experiences to get here,” Monahan said.
History teacher Ms. Schiraldi said one cannot directly compare previous immigrant waves to the current one.
“The current situation differs in terms of the scale and the specific reasons driving the migration,” Schiraldi said.
She said New Yorkers will feel the impact of the budget cuts because they will affect the availability and quality of certain services.
“Evaluating the necessity and potential consequences of this spending reduction requires careful analysis and consideration of alternative solutions,” Schiraldi said.
According to Adams’ statement on Nov. 16, all cuts in city spending will go into effect immediately, and he said New Yorkers can likely expect two more 5% cuts over the next six months.
