NYC mayor puts $12 billion cost on migrant crisis, blames 'broken' national immigration system

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday sharpened his appeal for state and federal aid by presenting steep new cost projections for the tens of thousands of migrants in New York City’s care.

“If we don’t get the support we need, New Yorkers could be left with a $12 billion bill,” he said in a formal address to the public from City Hall.

The $12 billion is the estimate by summer of 2025 if the flow of migrants continues apace with current numbers, Adams said. Administration officials had previously forecast that the cost would reach more than $4 billion by next summer. The new estimation of $4 billion annually for three years, is a significant portion of the city's budget that is currently $107 billion. By comparison, the NYPD's annual budget this year is $5.8 billion.

"The immigration system in this nation is broken; it has been broken for decades," Adams said, declaring: "Today, New York City has been left to pick up the pieces."

Nearly 100,000 migrants have arrived to the city since the spring of 2022, Adams said. While tens of thousands have moved on from the city, with new arrivals expected, the number of those remaining in the city’s shelters and emergency housing facilities could balloon to 100,000, Adams said.

“We are past our breaking point,” the mayor said.

Still, he vowed not to close the doors on those who need shelter. New York City is legally required to provide beds and care in a timely manner under its unique “Right to Shelter” law.

Despite the law, migrant men found themselves sleeping for days on the sidewalk outside a midtown Manhattan intake center last week. The images were circulated on social media and received national news coverage. While those using cardboard boxes as beds have been limited to single adults, an administration official told POLITICO last week that families with children may also soon be on the street for lack of space.

More than $140 million in federal funds have been allocated to New York City for the support of migrants. Officials with President Joe Biden’s administration have noted to POLITICO that Adams and members of New York’s congressional delegation met two weeks ago in Washington with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. A DHS team is currently in New York City to assess the crisis.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has provided state-owned sites for migrant shelters, including the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, and will reimburse the city for the costs of operating other facilities.

“More money will be required from the State of New York and I knew that," Hochul told reporters Wednesday after an unrelated event in Brooklyn. "And I’ve been talking about that even prior to the adjustments in the mayor’s estimates on the cost.”

She said the state budget includes $1 billion toward housing, National Guard assistance and legal services for migrants. She said she’s talked with state legislative leaders about an additional $1 billion in the next budget.

Hochul said state leaders continue to scout for sites for larger-scale housing. She said she’s been in constant contact with Adams as well as the White House, pressing them, like City Hall has, for mechanisms to allow migrants to work legally. "We are fully committed to helping the city out," she said.

In pleading Wednesday with Biden for more help for the newcomers, Adams invoked the president's predecessor.

“As President Obama has said,” the mayor said, “We were once strangers, too.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the amount of the NYPD budget.