(NewsNation) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the border is “too open” on an appearance on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, the day before she announced a new program meant to help migrants find work.
New York City has been especially stressed by migrant arrivals, as governors in border states have bused migrants to the city, along with other major, Democratic-run cities. Under New York City’s right-to-shelter laws, the government is responsible for housing migrants until they can get on their feet, a process that can take months or years due to mandatory wait times for work visas and a backlogged immigration system.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been outspoken in calling on the rest of the state to step in and help share the burden, along with asking the Biden administration for more aid and seeking ways to expedite the process of obtaining work visas.
On Monday, Hochul announced a new effort to help connect migrants who do have work permits with jobs. She lauded the Biden administration’s move to grant temporary protected status to migrants from Venezuela, a move that allows them to apply for work authorization immediately rather than forcing them to wait 180 days to even start the process, as is required for asylum-seekers.
Hochul said there are already 18,000 jobs listed on the site, with many from employers upstate. The goal is to quickly connect those with work authorization to employers willing to hire them so they can begin earning their own living.
The announcement came a day after Hochul said the border is too open and there needs to be more done to limit the number of people who come across, as those in New York City are faced with caring for 125,000 newly arrived migrants.
“We are always so proud of the fact that New York has the Statue of Liberty in our harbor. We are one of the most diverse places on earth because of our welcoming nature and it’s in our DNA to welcome immigrants,” Hochul said. “But there has to be some limits in place.”
Hochul laid the blame for the situation on Congress, calling on lawmakers to put more controls in place and increase the number of positions for Border Patrol instead of suggesting cuts to border agencies.
She also called out partisan fighting, as Republicans have accused the Biden administration of causing the border crisis, despite Congress having not passed meaningful immigration reform since the 1990s.
“Shame on Speaker McCarthy and the Republicans in Congress, including the nine from New York state who are complaining like crazy about the migrants, but refuse to work with President Biden and come up with a sensible border strategy,” Hochul said.
Hochul’s comments come as the number of unlawful crossings reached the highest level in 2023, with roughly 210,000 migrants apprehended in September. That’s up from 181,000 apprehended in August.
That increase means fiscal year 2023 has the second-highest number of apprehensions with more than 2 million. In 2022, 2.2 million migrant apprehensions were recorded.
Not all apprehended migrants remain in the U.S. Some return to Mexico voluntarily or are fast-tracked for deportation if they don’t pass initial screenings for asylum or humanitarian needs. Those who are released are instructed to undergo proceedings in immigration court, which is already dealing with a backlog of around two million cases.
While some enter the U.S. illegally, tens of thousands of legal migrants have also been processed at ports of entry in the past month, with roughly 1,500 asylum-seekers allowed to enter each day.
