Rockland County state of emergency upon arrival of NYC asylum-seekers, lawmakers weigh in

Rockland County declares state of emergency upon arrival of NYC asylum-seekers

New York City and Rockland County has declared a state of emergency over the recent surge in migrants, as some lawmakers are warning the influx is only going to get larger with Title 42 ending on Thursday. FOX 5's Ashlie Rodriguez reports.

NEW YORK - New York City and Rockland County has declared a state of emergency over the recent surge in migrants, as some lawmakers are warning the influx is only going to get larger with Title 42 ending on Thursday.

Newly arrived asylum seeker families and children stand in line at the P.S. 217 playground in Flatbush to receive a warm meal. They’re down the street from where New York City is housing them, the Best Western.

While some are welcoming asylum seekers with open arms, elsewhere across the state and nation, residents and politicians are pushing back, concerned the end of Title 42 on Thursday, will lead to ten thousand migrants crossing the US-Mexico Border a day, the greatest migration surge in the western hemisphere since World War II.

"Migrants will be in crisis as soon as next week," said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz). "It will be a humanitarian crisis because we are not prepared."

News of the end of the pandemic era policy that allowed the US to expel migrants more easily at the border this week— is spreading throughout Latin countries. 1,500 active-duty troops have been deployed to the border by the Biden Administration in anticipation of the surge.

Migrants arrive in New York City.

"There’s about 10 cities where most of these migrants are going," said Rep. Henry Cueller, TX-D. "New York is number 1."

New York City – a sanctuary city-- is so overwhelmed according to Mayor Eric Adams, he’s sending 300 migrants now to Rockland and Orange County, which are expecting their arrival any day.

So far more than 60,000 asylum seekers have come into New York City this year—all requiring temporary housing and access to services, the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget has stated that they anticipate the full cost for the asylum seekers to be approximately $1.4 billion in FY 2023 and $2.8 billion in FY 2024.

But amid all the concerns, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, says the United States is prepared, working with Latin American countries to set up processing centers.

"It’s going to take our plan awhile to really take hold for people to understand, that they can access, lawful, safe orderly pathways before they reach the border," said Alejandro Mayorkas, United States Secretary of Homeland Security. "And quite frankly, if they come to the border they will receive a consequence under our enforcement authorities."