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New York prepares center for asylum seekers after upstate counties declare emergencies

by TOM ESCHEN | WRGB Staff

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Migrants walk up the bank on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande river, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Migrants walk up the bank on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande river, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Asylum seekers have been showing up at the US-Mexico border in huge numbers in anticipation of the restriction of Title 42, that had allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. New measures were announced Wednesday creating new legal pathways for migrants. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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New York City (WRGB) — New York City officials will open the first asylum seeker arrival center next week, as hundreds of migrants continue arriving in the state.

The Roosevelt Hotel in midtown will host the center. This comes as Mayor Eric Adams originally planned to begin relocating migrants upstate, but after Orange and Rockland counties issued states of emergency, along with Rensselaer County, Adams backed off that plan.

Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing President Joe Biden to give federal assistance for housing and to allow asylum seekers to work, but it is a process. In addition, receiving asylum can be a challenge.

“Asylum is not a blanket benefit for everyone coming from a country where there are terrible conditions. Asylum is an individualized benefit based on an individual fear of persecution or someone who has experienced past persecution," Immigration Attorney Barbara Brenner told WRGB.

The states of emergency issued by the counties would ban municipalities, hotels and shelters from entering into any agreement to house migrants.

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