Asylum seekers by the thousands who have arrived in New York City have been sent to a number of upstate localities. The latest group has arrived in the Schenectady County town of Rotterdam.
Thursday morning, the motel parking lot was cordoned off with yellow chains. Several security guards were stationed at the entrance while others watched the perimeter.
Alexander Zúñiga and Vanesa Encarnación arrived in the U.S. two days ago, telling WAMC they left their children behind in Ecuador. "We came country by country, through Columbia, Panama, the jungle, a mountain of obstacles and difficulties, but we finally made it here. We came illegally in search of something better for us and our children," said Zúñiga.
They say they're looking for work and didn't come here to harm anyone. They speak little English and all they want is a better life.
Town officials say at least three buses carrying migrants, including women and children, began to arrive under heavy security late Tuesday night at the Super8 Motel on Carman Road, filling 85 out of 100 rooms several hours after guests, including low-income residents being sheltered by Montgomery County, were evicted from the motel on the pretense that the facility would be shut down for one year. Another bus arrived Wednesday night and more are expected soon.
Angela Castrillo-Vilches is with the New York Immigration Coalition.
"We got notification of the Rotterdam folks, about two days ago, we know that we have received families, which is a first. New York City hasn't sent families anywhere else," said Castrillo-Vilches. "It's been mainly single men and women. We ended up getting a few couples and married couples towards the end of June. But this is the first time that we are receiving children. So we've got children, we've got people who are pregnant as well, that are in Rotterdam currently."
Schenectady County Manager Rory Fluman say the country doesn’t have any jurisdiction, saying immigration is up to the federal government.
State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara says New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a fellow Democrat, is "thoughtlessly" sending the migrants to town.
"...completely disregarding the fact that there was individuals already residing at that location," Santabarbara says. "And these are individuals that are struggling with poverty themselves. And now, they were forced out with almost no notice, and now they're displaced in our community. I'm absolutely outraged by what transpired. It's incomprehensible that this decision was made without any conversation or coordination with local representatives."
Democratic Capital Region Congressman Paul Tonko agrees.
"The callousness shown towards these individuals by Mayor Adams and the motel is beyond belief This is not about migrants it's about basic human decency and respect that we were only informed of these actions by the mayor's office after the fact makes them even more egregious," said Tonko.
Santabarbara says his office is trying to locate the displaced motel residents to offer assistance. He is calling for open dialogue and cooperation between federal, state, and local authorities.
In a letter addressed to State Attorney General Letitia James, Santabarbara seeks immediate intervention to investigate the legality of the evictions. He says James' office is determining whether they can proceed with an investigation. The AG did not reply to a request for comment.
Defending the policy of busing migrants out of New York City, an Adams spokesperson tells WAMC the city is out of space after accepting 90,000 asylum seekers in recent weeks and months.
Castrillo-Vilches says the coalition is working with DocGo, the company that has a contract with New York City to bus individuals out of the Big Apple.
"They want to have, you know, a regular life, they want to work, they want to work, they want to buy houses, they want to, you know, really make our communities fruitful. They're here to you know, set up a life in the same way that a lot of us have moved in or out of the Capital Region do. So again, right, a lot of the media that has come out and has been really negative, I think, forget that missing piece is that a lot of the folks that are arriving are folks that want to set up lives here in the Capital Region, and we should be doing the most that we can to make that possible for them," said Castrillo-Vilches.
WAMC's Alexander Babbie contributed to this report.
