NEW YORK (NewsNation) — New York City is expanding a curfew to additional migrant shelters after violent incidents the city attributes to migrant shelter residents gained national attention in recent weeks.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration will impose an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at 20 migrant shelters starting Monday, after initially placing the restrictions at four other locations, a spokesperson said Sunday.
The curfew will impact about 3,600 migrants, the majority of whom are single men, with the largest of the emergency centers housing nearly 1,000 migrants in Long Island City, Queens, according to the mayor’s office.
All male migrants were recently involved in two attacks involving the New York Police Department. In the first incident, captured on video in Times Square, a group of migrants are accused of viciously attacking two officers.
In another incident in Times Square, a 15-year-old Venezuelan migrant allegedly shot a tourist after robbing a store and then shot at police officers who were chasing him.
The attacks happened as the NYPD reported that in the first nine months of 2023, more than 5,000 police officers were hurt by suspects, some of whom are migrants.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban claimed a wave of what he called “migrant crime has washed over the city,” but when pressed for details to back this up, police and city officials said they couldn’t provide them. The city does not track crime trends by suspects’ nationality, according to the Associated Press.
In fact, the AP writes, most categories of crime are down since the surge of migrant arrivals began 18 months ago. Overall crime in New York City, police said in a December news release, dropped by 4.1% in November of 2023 compared to the year before. Year to date, overall crime decreased by 866 crimes citywide.
In other parts of the nation, though, stores in cities such as Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C., are reporting a spike in shoplifting crimes and retail theft. Officials are concerned that with limited available resources, migrants may turn to crime to support themselves.
Adams told NewsNation the crimes don’t represent the majority of asylum seekers.
“I have a goal of repealing any aspect where people are participating in criminal behavior and violent criminal acts, they should not stay in our city. They should not stay in our city. They shouldn’t be here when you’re living off the benevolence of New Yorkers and tax dollars,” Adams said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she doesn’t believe the recent crimes involving migrants are isolated incidents. However, the police unions in the city said the number of assaults on police officers has become a full-blown epidemic and the migrant crisis complicates the problem.
City officials initially placed a curfew on four shelters last month in response to neighborhood complaints.
The total of 24 migrant shelters now subject to the restrictions represents a fraction of the more than 200 such facilities the city operates to house some 66,000 newly arrived asylum seekers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.