Current:Home > InvestThe mayors of five big cities seek a meeting with Biden about how to better manage arriving migrants-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
The mayors of five big cities seek a meeting with Biden about how to better manage arriving migrants
View Date:2024-12-23 18:30:01
WASHINGTON (AP) — The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are pressing to meet with President Joe Biden about getting federal help in managing the surge of migrants they say are arriving in their cities with little to no coordination, support or resources from his administration.
The Democratic leaders say in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday that while they appreciate Biden’s efforts so far, much more needs to be done to ease the burden on their cities.
Migrants are sleeping in police station foyers in Chicago. In New York, a cruise ship terminal was turned into a shelter. In Denver, the number of migrants arriving has increased tenfold and available space to shelter them has withered. With fewer available work authorizations, these migrants cannot find work that would allow them to get into proper housing.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who is leading the coalition, said nearly every conversation he has had with arriving migrants is the same: Can he help them find a job, they ask.
“The crisis is we have folks here who desperately want to work. And we have employers here who desperately want to hire them. And we have a federal government that’s standing in the way of employers who want to hire employees who want to work,” Johnston said.
Also signing on were the mayors of the country’s four largest cities: Eric Adams of New York, Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Sylvester Turner of Houston.
The situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has vexed the Democratic president, who is seeking reelection in 2024. He is increasingly under fire from members of his own party who are managing the growing number of migrants in their cities. Republicans claim Biden is soft on border security and is allowing too many people to enter the United States.
He has responded by toughening rules at the border meant to curb illegal crossings and by offering work authorizations and other incentives to those who come to the U.S. legally — applying ahead of time and arriving by plane.
The reason for the ballooning number of migrants in these cities is complicated, but economic and climate-related hardships in their home countries are key drivers. There are increasing numbers of families arriving and asking for asylum.
Some conservative-leaning states have sent migrants to so-called sanctuary cities such as New York or Chicago, where laws are more favorable to noncitizens. But that alone does not explain why the cities are facing such increases.
In years past, when migrants arrived, they would be released and picked up by nonprofit groups before usually going to stay with a relative already in the U.S. But the nationalities of the people arriving have changed, and many no longer have any place to go.
Winning asylum is a long and difficult process through a badly clogged immigration court system. In some cases, migrants may wait up to a decade for a court date. They are released into the U.S. to wait. Some are eligible to work, but such authorizations are badly delayed. There are concerns, too, that allowing too much work authorization will encourage more people to make the dangerous journey to the U.S. on foot. So thousands are in limbo, unable to work, sleeping in shelters or government facilities.
Biden has requested $1.4 billion from Congress to help state and local governments provide shelter and services for migrants, after earlier pleas from Democratic mayors and governors.
Johnston and the other mayors say in their letter that more is needed, and they are asking for $5 billion.
“While we are greatly appreciative of the additional federal funding proposed, our city budgets and local taxpayers continue to bear the brunt of this ongoing federal crisis,” the letter says. “Cities have historically absorbed and integrated new migrants with success.”
Denver is spending $2 million a week on sheltering migrants. New York has surpassed a total of $1.7 billion and Chicago has spent $320 million, according to the letter.
“Our cities need additional resources that far exceed the amount proposed in order to properly care for the asylum seekers entering our communities,” the mayors’ letter says. “Relying on municipal budgets is not sustainable and has forced us to cut essential city services.”
The mayors also want an accelerated work authorization approval process so migrants can find work.
“We are extremely appreciative of the work the Biden-Harris administration has done in expanding work authorization and providing funding for this mission, but we need to go one step further to ensure we continue to meet the moment and provide care for new arrivals,” Johnson’s office said in a statement.
The cities are full of people who have applied, but there are delays of six months or more. The mayors also are pushing to expand authorizations so anyone released into the U.S. would become eligible to find work while they wait for their immigration cases to play out.
Lastly, they are asking for the administration to create a regional migrate coordinator who would work with the federal government, nonprofits and state and local officials. The aim is to better coordinate and place migrants in areas where there is capacity for them.
It’s unclear whether Congress, including the Republican-controlled House, will pass any of the funding Biden has requested, let alone a increase for local support.
“We think there is a real commonsense path here that and that’s why we thought it was important,” Johnston said.
veryGood! (627)
Related
- Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
- RNC lays off dozens after Trump-backed leaders take the helm
- '9-1-1' Season 7: Premiere date, time, cast, channel, where to watch new episodes
- TEA Business College AI ProfitProphet 4.0’ Investment System Prototype
- Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron amid stretch of 23 drives without a TD
- Rats are high on marijuana evidence at an infested police building, New Orleans chief says
- Ten years after serving together in Iraq these battle buddies reunited
- Former UFC champion Mark Coleman in the hospital after saving his parents from a house fire in Ohio
- Love Actually Secrets That Will Be Perfect to You
- How to Google better: 7 tricks to get better results when searching
Ranking
- Charles Hanover: A Summary of the UK Stock Market in 2023
- US-mandated religious freedom group ends Saudi trip early after rabbi ordered to remove his kippah
- New Orleans police evidence room overrun by rodents, officials say: The rats are eating our marijuana
- Python abuse alleged at supplier of snakeskins used for Gucci handbags
- Wisconsin’s high court to hear oral arguments on whether an 1849 abortion ban remains valid
- Crocodile attacks man in Everglades on same day alligator bites off hand near Orlando
- Shakeup continues at Disney district a year after takeover by DeSantis appointees
- Reba McEntire turns for superfan L. Rodgers on 'The Voice' in emotional audition: 'Meant to be'
Recommendation
-
Volunteer firefighter accused of setting brush fire on Long Island
-
Texas parental consent law for teen contraception doesn’t run afoul of federal program, court says
-
Drake Bell alleges 'extensive' and 'brutal' sexual abuse by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck
-
Missed out on your Trader Joe's mini tote bag? Store says more are coming late summer
-
'Heretic' spoilers! Hugh Grant spills on his horror villain's fears and fate
-
In yearly Pennsylvania tradition, Amish communities hold spring auctions to support fire departments
-
Get a Ninja Portable Blender for Only $45, $350 Worth of Beauty for $50: Olaplex, Tula & More Daily Deals
-
Nebraska governor approves regulations to allow gender-affirming care for minors