Sanctuary cities across US overwhelmed with migrants

Sanctuary cities across the country are scrambling to find space to house an influx of asylum-seekers.

In New York City, the situation has grown dire after taking in more than 60,000 migrants in the last year alone. Nearly 50% of the city’s contracted hotel rooms are occupied by asylum-seekers amid the surging influx, Mayor Eric Adams said recently. 

And now there are talks of “possibly” opening housing facilities on Rikers Island, which houses the city’s largest jail, although the mayor’s office said it is looking at more than 400 locations.

A former hotel, a one-stop-shop with food, shelter, and medical and legal services, will be the first official arrival center for the asylum-seekers, and all new asylum-seekers coming to New York will be routed here.

Chicago and Denver are facing similar issues. The sanctuary cities all have policies that welcome migrants and asylum-seekers with open arms — but those policies weren’t designed to receive thousands in a short period of time.