A hoax story about migrants replacing homeless veterans goes viral | Fact check

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: Homeless veterans in New York were evicted and replaced with illegal immigrants

A May 16 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) makes a claim about a purported incident in New York involving veterans.

"Homeless veterans in New York were EVICTED and replaced with illegal immigrants," reads the post. "Under NO circumstances should this happen in our country!!"

The post generated over 600 shares in less than a week. Similar posts have generated hundreds of interactions on Facebook.

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence homeless veterans were evicted and replaced by migrants in New York. Government officials and representatives of the hotels in question said that no veterans were in any of the hotels, nor were any guests displaced.

Viral claim stemmed from hoax story by a New York-based nonprofit

The post's claim surfaced after the New York Post ran a story on May 12 in which Sharon Toney-Finch, president of the nonprofit Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, claimed that nearly two dozen homeless veterans were booted from Crossroads Hotel in the town of Newburgh, New York, and the Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites in the city of Middletown, New York, to make room for migrants.

Republicans, including 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, shared the story on social media, and it was picked up by conservative news outlets such as the Washington Times. The story came a day after New York City Mayor Eric Adams sent a bus of asylum seekers to a suburban hotel on May 11, as Politico reported.

However, the story fell apart after Mid Hudson News reported that the general manager of the Crossroads Hotel said no group of veterans was staying at the hotel at the time of the alleged incident, and that no guests were asked to leave. The outlet also determined that a purported receipt showing the payment for the vet's rooms was altered. Several homeless men later said they were recruited to pretend to be the supposed displaced veterans.

The Post soon issued a correction that noted Toney-Finch was accused of misrepresenting the veterans and later reported that the nonprofit lied about the situation. The New York Times similarly reported the ousted veteran claim was a "sham."

Todd Soloway, an attorney representing the Crossroads Hotel as part of a lawsuit, wrote in a May 17 letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Sandra Sciortino that “there are not now, and never were, any group of veterans at the hotel and certainly none were kicked out to make way for migrant asylum seekers."

About 186 asylum seekers remain at two hotels in Newburgh, including the Crossroads Hotel, under a temporary court order as of May 15, according to The Journal News.

Fact check: Post distorts Karine Jean-Pierre's statement on immigration under Biden

Rob Myers, a spokesperson for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, which franchises Super 8, told USA TODAY that “after speaking with the hotel’s owner, it’s our understanding that no guests – veterans or otherwise – were ever displaced, nor is the hotel housing any migrants.”

Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment. However, George Serrano, supervisor for Wallkill Town where the two hotels are located, told Mid Hudson News that no veterans were placed in hotels in his town.

The New York’s Attorney General's Office said on May 19 that it was looking into reports about the fabricated story, according to Politico.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim and the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claim of homeless veterans being replaced was a hoax | Fact check