Media Divided on Coverage, Causes of New York City's Migrant Crisis

New York City’s struggle to grapple with an influx of migrants is spawning commentary and criticism over immigration policy, media coverage, and more.

“Scapegoats”: A writer in Mother Jones (Left bias) described the Roosevelt Hotel, NYC’s main asylum intake center, as “nothing like the imagery of an ‘invasion’ or ‘national emergency’ evoked by politicians and the anti-migrant protests that have cropped up.” Instead, the writer saw “people trying to do the right thing, following the rules, and getting in the indefinable ‘line’ of lawfully seeking asylum.” While the influx of migrants is straining the city’s resources, the writer determines the migrants, described as “exhausted families who have fled hardship and violence and are eager to stand on their own two feet,” have become “scapegoats” used to validate “politically-driven zero-sum messages.”

Biden Policies: Earlier this month, Byron York (Right bias) argued Democratic lawmakers in New York City “still can’t face reality.” Citing New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ claim that the influx is the result of border states, specifically Texas, busing migrants to NYC, York wrote that Texas “has sent a total of just more than 13,300 immigrants to New York since August 2022. New York, however, said it has received more than 110,000 immigrants.” York attributed the migrant increase to Biden’s immigration policies, writing, “New York's immigrant problems are the result of policies promised by candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race and delivered by President Joe Biden in the two years and eight months since January 2021.”