New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced the forthcoming closure of the “Asylum Seeker Arrival Center” and “Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center” at The Roosevelt Hotel, which became a symbol of the Big Apple’s illegal immigration crisis.
The facility, which opened in May 2023 when the city was taking in an average of 4,000 illegal immigrants each week, will cease its intake and supportive services by June.
The Roosevelt shelter, which still houses 2,852 migrants, is one of more than 50 that New York has closed or announced it will shutter as the number of new arrivals has decreased. The city also recently closed two sprawling tent shelters on Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and on Randall’s Island.
The welcome center in the lobby of the Roosevelt where migrants received shelter assignments will close, and so will the hundreds of rooms housing families upstairs, the mayor said. It was not immediately clear whether the hotel would reopen to tourists.
The closures have coincided with President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has raised the prospect among immigration activists, lawyers and city officials that migrant shelters could be easily targeted by federal immigration authorities.
The announcement of the Roosevelt’s closure came shortly after the Trump administration cited the hotel in its decision to abruptly claw back about $80 million in federal funds the city had received to subsidize some of its shelter operations. The city sued the federal government on Friday, calling the clawback a “money grab” and disputing the Trump administration’s characterization of the Roosevelt as the headquarters of a Venezuelan gang.
The average number of migrants arriving in the city each week is now about 350, down from a weekly high of 4,000 at the peak of the crisis. Nearly 45,000 migrants still live in converted hotels, offices and warehouses across the city, down from a high of 69,000 in January 2024. (NYT)
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“While we’re not done caring for those who come into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on an unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said in a statement. “Our administration has skillfully managed this crisis, which has seen over 232,000 migrants enter our city asking for shelter, and The Roosevelt Hotel has been key in allowing us to effectively manage our operations, processing over 173,000 individuals through these doors. Now, thanks to the sound policy decisions of our team, we are able to announce the closure of this site and help even more asylum seekers take the next steps in their journeys as they envision an even brighter future, while simultaneously saving taxpayers millions of dollars. The fact that, within a span of year, we are closing 53 sites and shuttering all of our tent-based facilities shows both our continued progress and our ability, when faced with unprecedented challenges, to do what no other city can.”
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