New York Mayor Eric Adams decision to relocate immigrants into hotels north of the state, due to the saturation in the shelters of the city is reportedly resulting in the evictions and forced relocation of veterans.
New York City has faced the arrival of more than 67,000 migrants, including children, mainly from Venezuela, sent by Gov. Greg Abbott, from Texas, a state overwhelmed by unlawful border crossings.
Reports indicate however that now hotels in upstate New York are evicting homeless veterans from facilities to make room for immigrants arriving by bus from New York City.
The mostly Vietnam-era homeless veterans were receiving temporary accommodations thanks to the efforts of a nonprofit agency, according to advocates for the former soldiers.
Two dozen homeless veterans "have been kicked out of upstate hotels to make room for immigrants," according to claims recently reported in the New York Post.
According to Sharon Toney-Finch, CEO of the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, the veterans were part of a four-week temporary housing program while they found another solution for their housing needs.
The move is part of a strategy to relocate migrants from New York City to upstate New York as a means of alleviating migrant overcrowding in the urban metropolitan area.
As a result, officials in in Rockland and Orange counties are now lashing out against the move, and some Republicans have threatened legal action.
The city of Yonkers, which borders the county of The Bronx, is expected to receive dozens of migrant families tomorrow, and as had happened before with Rockand and Orange, its mayor complained that he had not been notified of this decision in advance.
The flow of immigrants to New York since August 2022 has caused a humanitarian and resource crisis, according to city officials. It has reportedly saturated the city's shelters, which has resorted to renting rooms in 120 hotels, also now saturated.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano told ABC News said he just learned from his own local police department that some 100 migrants would be sent to the Ramada Inn where they will stay for at least a year. He added he did not receive any notice from the New York City mayor's office.
Meanwhile, Rockland County and the city of New York will face each other Monday in the first court hearing to determine the arrivals of immigrants, which the county managed to temporarily halt with an injunction last Thursday.
In September 2022, Democrats lashed out at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he resettled immigrants on Martha's Vineyard.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused DeSantis of using migrants as "political pawns."
"What they're doing is an illegal stunt, it's a political stunt. And it's really disrespectful to humanity. It doesn't give them any dignity… it's just cruel," she said.
DeSantis however, has denied those charges, and he, along with Gov. Abbott have said it is unfair to place the entire burden of illegal border crossings on southern states.
Florida Democrat Nicole Fried, who unsuccessfully tried to secure the Democratic primary in the 2022 gubernatorial race criticized DeSantis, saying that, "the decision to send 50 migrants to a small community without notice shows complete disregard for the safety of migrants…"
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who is rumored to be aiming at DeSantis for a possible 2024 presidential contest has asked the Justice Department to investigate the Florida governor for possible charges of "kidnapping" or "fraudulent inducement."
Other Democrats in the New York suburbs who are facing the consequences of the city's relocation efforts took aim at NYC officials instead.
New York Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan, whose 18th District encompasses the northern suburbs and suburbs of New York City, condemned the "incompetence" of New York City officials in displacing homeless veterans.
New York Republican Congressman Marc Molinaro also took to social media to denounce the "absolutely inexcusable" treatment of homeless veterans, calling it "the result of incompetence and a lack of compassion."
Sharon Toney-Finch, CEO of the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation said the hotel took the action to expel veterans based on money.
"They get paid more [by immigrants]," she declared. "That's very unfair, because at the end of the day, we are a small non-profit organization, and we pay $88 a day for a veteran to be there."It's unclear what the city pays for housing for migrants sent by bus from New York.
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