Originally Posted by
Lee Chowaniec
If migrants are bussed to Erie County
An excellent report by the Buffalo News today regarding possible impacts to Erie County and its residents should New York City bus asylum-seekers elsewhere.
If busloads of asylum-seekers are coming to Erie County to be sheltered in hotels, dorms or other facilities, the looming question is: Who is covering the costs of their stay?
More specifically, what financial burden will Erie County – or any county in a similar position – have to bear because of actions taken by New York City to send asylum-seekers to other parts of the state for housing?
Conflicting information has been presented to the community, often through a political lens, and specifics have been hard to come by. Part of the reason is because some questions – like how many asylum-seekers are coming here – have yet to be answered.
Q: Who is paying for asylum seekers to live here?
A: The short answer is: mostly New York City, which is covering the transportation and housing costs for migrants bused upstate. That figure includes the types of costs typically associated with any shelter, like food and clothing. It should also include the costs of health care or other social services benefits.
New York State is often mentioned as also sharing the costs because Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated $1 billion to help relieve the asylum-seeker crisis. That included giving $700 million to New York City in the current budget to help the city cover its shelter costs. That money is being used by New York City to help fund all its sheltering costs for migrants, wherever they are housed. The state is also contributing money to help the city cover health care and social services costs for these individuals.
Q: Why is New York City responsible for paying for asylum-seekers being sent to upstate counties?
A: Because New York City is the only major city in the country that is legally required to provide a place to live for anyone who shows up and requests it. The right-to-shelter law has been in place for three decades, but that law is being tested to its limits now that tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have been bused to the city from states along the southern border since last year.
Q: If New York City is picking up the costs for everything, why is there such an uproar?
A: Many reasons.
First, ever since New York City announced its plans to house asylum-seekers in counties outside its own, communication between the city and other counties hasn't been great. Some county executives have publicly expressed anger and frustration that proper coordination and consideration wasn't extended to them prior to the city moving forward with its own direct deals with private hotels.
Second, there's a lack of faith that New York City will follow through on its commitments and financial obligations, leaving counties holding the financial bag. There's also skepticism that support from New York State will be unwavering, despite the governor's assurances and financial commitments for the current budget year.
Third, even if the financial costs associated with the migrants were picked up by New York City, some counties remain concerned about the impact on local health care providers and Social Services personnel and resources. Some health care and social services benefits should be provided at the shelter sites, but that doesn't guarantee counties will assume none of that burden.
Q: How long will the asylum-seekers be here, and is New York City on the hook to pick up their costs for as long as they remain?
A: That question is very difficult to answer without a crystal ball. Because of a giant backlog of cases, it can take many years for an asylum case to be resolved. County leaders are naturally skeptical that New York City will foot the bill to shelter people here for that long.
Under the right-to-shelter law, New York is required to pay for the sheltering of asylum-seekers indefinitely. However, county leaders have heard that those financial benefits will not continue if an asylum-seeker chooses to leave the shelter. In addition, Adams has been talking about wanting to alter, and effectively weaken, the right-to-shelter law, which could restrict the city's financial obligations to other counties down the road.
Q: Doesn't New York City have to reach some formal agreement with the counties to pay for the sheltering of incoming migrants?
A: No. New York City is contracting directly with hotel and transportation providers and other private businesses to provide services for asylum-seekers in whatever county the migrants are sent to. The city doesn't have to get county permission for anything – which is why some counties are issuing states of emergency to try and require businesses to get county permission before accepting any migrants.
Even larger, Democratic-led upstate counties, including Monroe, Onondaga and Albany counties, have issued emergency orders even though they have also expressed more openness to receiving asylum-seekers. Some of those orders don't forbid migrants from coming but still demand that private businesses seek permission from the county administration before contracting with New York City to receive asylum-seekers.
Q: Is that the only reason why counties are declaring states of emergency?
A: Different counties have different political and practical reasons for declaring states of emergency. Some have enacted a state of emergency to try and prevent any asylum-seekers from being sheltered in their counties, citing expectations and concerns about the potential burdens migrants could pose on limited county services.
County executives and legislators, who are up for re-election, may also feel political pressure to take a stand against what they feel is a federal immigration problem being unfairly pushed onto counties.
Q: Why hasn't Erie County followed suit in declaring a state of emergency?
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he considers it "illegal and immoral" to issue a state of emergency that attempts to ban migrants from coming into the county. He's been adamant that attempts to keep asylum-seekers out of Erie County go against American values and against the values of Erie County, which has had a long and successful track record as a refugee resettlement hub.
He also said he doesn't believe any type of emergency order that attempts to restrict private businesses from contracting with New York City is legally enforceable.
The Democratic-led Erie County Legislature similarly has not entertained a call by Republican legislators to issue a state of emergency.
Comment
Strong stance by County Executive Mark Poloncarz during an election year where 66% of Americans declare struggling / living paycheck-to-paycheck. Should the county bear any future program costs, where our own citizens are homeless, suffering mental issues, and experiencing difficulty in having proper medical coverage, Mr. Poloncarz could experience blowback.
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