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NY Gov. Hochul clashes with lawmakers over funding for migrant crisis

New York Governor Kathy Hochul
WAMC
/
Ashley Hupfl
New York Governor Kathy Hochul

New York Governor Kathy Hochul continues to clash with upstate lawmakers over her approach to the migrant crisis in New York City — including with representatives in the Hudson Valley.

More than 100,000 migrants have been bused to New York City from the U.S.-Mexico border over the past year, as southern municipalities continue to relocate asylum seekers to “sanctuary cities” across the country. Hochul says New York has spent nearly $2 billion on the situation to date, and her budget plan for 2025 would provide an additional $2.4 billion for humanitarian services and emergency shelters.

Republican lawmakers have been quick to attack the plan, arguing that an increase in migrant funding means less money for New York schools. Congressman Marc Molinaro of the 19th District recently joined five fellow Republicans in introducing a Congressional resolution calling on Hochul to flat-out rescind her proposed budget.

“Rather than confronting the border crisis, rather than addressing the sanctuary state policy, she is diverting billions of dollars for schools and students that’s meant to provide for quality education, access to after-school programming, and ultimately, by the way, services for students with disabilities and other resources that students rely on in schools," he explains.

The Democratic governor’s budget actually increases school aid, but it ends a longtime tradition in how it allocates that funding known as “hold harmless,” meaning some districts, especially those in suburban areas, would receive less money than the year before. Hochul, who has sworn off raising taxes in her budget, says schools received an influx of aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and impacted districts should be able to weather the storm.

In response to the resolution, Hochul’s administration penned its own letter accusing Molinaro and others of “grandstanding.” Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia urged the House delegation to lend its support to an immigration deal currently in the U.S. Senate. The deal would make extensive changes to immigration law and could make it harder to receive asylum in the U.S. It would also give the Department of Homeland Security authority to automatically restrict the border if the average number of daily crossings reaches 5,000 over a one-week span. President Biden would have the same authority at 4,000 daily crossings.

GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has declared the deal dead on the arrival in the House. Asked for his thoughts, Molinaro detailed his support for the “Secure the Border Act” passed by House Republicans last year. The heavily restrictive bill has been considered a non-starter for Democrats. But Molinaro says the current deal doesn’t go far enough: he says restricting the border is something President Biden can already do.

"Simply by securing the border and ending the sanctuary city policies, you would disincentivize the human trafficking, and the illegal crossings, and allow for a humane and streamlined process to consider vetting for those who have legal right to claim asylum," he adds.

Molinaro later clarified his thoughts in a statement to WAMC, saying: “The Senate bill includes provisions I can support, like funding for law enforcement, but it faces an uncertain path forward in the Senate because it doesn’t close the border. That’s why I’m calling for an immediate conference meeting with the House, Senate, and White House to develop a real bipartisan solution.”

For her part, Hochul has called on the federal government to decompress the country’s borders, provide aid, and expedite work authorizations for migrants. Part of the $2.4 billion in her budget would go toward reimbursing New York City for costs to use Floyd Bennett Field for an emergency shelter in Brooklyn. The site is managed by the National Park Service, but State Senator Rob Rolison, a Republican from the 39th District in Poughkeepsie, questions whether the federal government should be charging the city at all.

"At the very least, [the federal government] should be saying, ‘No, listen, you can use it.’ Why do we have to pay them? I don’t get that. It makes no sense to me," wonders Rolison.

Meantime, Hochul can expect continued pushback on the local level against efforts to bus asylum seekers out of New York City, to communities upstate. Rockland County was one of several counties to declare a state of emergency when New York City first announced the plan last year. Republican County Executive Ed Day even issued an emergency order banning outside municipalities from establishing unauthorized shelters in Rockland, citing a lack of resources.

Speaking with WAMC, Day says his stance is unchanged — and he’d rather see the money set aside for migrants in Hochul’s budget spent on schools and infrastructure.

"You are not going to solve this problem by throwing money at it," says Day. "The only solution, at least short-term, is to completely control the border until there can be order restored."

Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."