NYC plans to send new immigrants to Rockland, Orange. 'We will not stand for it,' Day says

Rockland County Executive Ed Day on Friday warned New York City Mayor Eric Adams not to bus migrants here, calling any plan to do so “absurd” and saying the county “will not stand for it.”

Adams' office confirmed the city will temporarily house asylum seekers at hotels in Rockland and Orange counties due to the huge influx New York City has been struggling to manage. He said they were all single men, and said the placements were the start of a program that the city could expand.

Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny said Friday that Adams had called her that morning to tell her for the first time that the city was considering placing some of the asylum seekers in its care in a hotel in her town.

What are the plans?

Day said the City of New York planned to house about 340 adult men in Armoni Inn and Suites in Orangeburg for four months with plans to secure them work permits to integrate into the community.

Pointing to Adams' own Road Forward Plan, which calls on a federal government strategy to prepare for immigrants' arrival in advance, Day called any NYC scheme to bus immigrants to Rockland "duplicitous."

'Influx of migrants': Day and Lawler say immigrant swell strains Rockland; protesters say they contribute

"This screams out for solutions on the federal level pertaining to our broken immigration system," said Day, a Republican, citing the Democratic Biden administration.

Day said the city plan included short-term funding and services for individuals, but with no details. No realistic plans had been communicated as to who will house, feed, and support these individuals in the long term, Day said in a statement.

"Rockland is not immigrant-ready," said Renold Julien, executive director of Konbit Neg Lakay, a Spring Valley-based nonprofit that has been serving the county's immigrant population for more than 35 years. It is a struggle to arrange services for immigrants coming to the small county now, Julien said.

Who will pay?

He said there are many questions about who will provide funding to aid the county nonprofits. Konbit is experiencing an increase in people coming with special I-134 visas that help those from Ukraine, Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Julien said the group who could be sent to the county would qualify for work permits, and that his agency is adept at helping facilitate them. But Day said the permits can take months to obtain, questioning the four-month timetable he said NYC officials had cited.

Kenny said Adams had told her the city would cover all food, medicine, laundry and other expenses, but gave no details about how many people were coming and made the arrangement sound tentative.

Kenny said she soon realized the plans were fairly solid when someone sent her photos of new beds waiting outside the Armoni entrance.

"It all sounded like this is something that would happen in the next month," the Republican said. "For me to get a picture of beds was a little disturbing."

She said she was still awaiting answers about whether criminal background checks had been conducted on the visitors and other details, such as where they are from, how long they may stay and whether they are authorized to work.

The Armoni is a 171-room hotel off Route 303 that was a Holiday Inn franchise for decades, until new owners bought it in 2021.

'Additional housing options' for asylum seekers

The release from Adams' office said, without identifying the hotels, that it would place asylum seekers in Orangeburg and Orange Lake, a hamlet in the town of Newburgh in Orange County. The Democrat said the city will provide shelter there for up to four months, with the same city-funded services given at the city's Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Centers.

Staff at the hotels will connect the visitors with community-based organizations and faith groups to support their transition, Adams' office said.

“This new program provides additional housing options in neighboring counties for asylum seekers arriving in New York City," Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said in the statement. "This is an issue we must all work together to address, as we have a shared responsibility in managing the influx of over 60,000 asylum seekers arriving to our city.”

Adams' office pointed to the looming expiration of a Trump-era immigration policy, known as Title 42, that made it easier to expel migrants from U.S. borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy, which allowed Customs and Border Protection to turn migrants away in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading in holding facilities, is set to end next week.

"With the number of asylum seekers arriving in New York City rapidly accelerating ahead of Title 42’s lifting next week, and what is expected to be an even larger influx after May 11, the hotels in Orange Lake and Orangeburg will free up additional space in New York City for the hundreds of asylum seekers continuing to arrive in the five boroughs every day," Adams' office stated. "Since last spring, over 60,800 asylum seekers have come through New York City and been offered a place to stay and over 37,500 asylum seekers are currently in the city’s care."

In March, Day and U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-Pearl River, held a press conference warning that a wave of immigration to Rockland had strained the county Department of Social Services, particularly the foster care system; nonprofit food pantries; and the East Ramapo school district.

"Rockland County is not a sanctuary county, unlike New York City and its boroughs," Lawler said Friday, "and should not bear the costs associated with the Biden administration's abject failure on border security and immigration policy."

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Immigrant relocation to Rockland, Orange planned by NYC. What we know