8 Months Inside New York’s Migrant Shelters: Fear, Joy, and Hope
When the first buses transporting migrants from the southern border arrived in Manhattan two years ago, it appeared to be little more than a political maneuver. The Republican governor of Texas seemed eager to demonstrate that if New York truly aspired to be a sanctuary city, he would be more than willing to send busloads of migrants its way.
No one could have anticipated the profound implications that would follow. Since 2022, over 225,000 migrants have sought refuge in New York City, leading to an expenditure exceeding $6 billion on an array of shelters that evolved into the largest emergency housing system for migrants in the nation.
Hundreds of hotels and vacant office buildings, heavily impacted by the pandemic, found new purposes as converted shelters. Additionally, ball fields and warehouses were transformed into barrack-style dormitories to accommodate migrants hailing from diverse regions including Venezuela, Peru, Morocco, and Sudan.
The implications of this influx extended beyond the immediate challenge of providing shelter. The political landscape began to shift as well. New York found itself at the center of a national discourse on immigration, which significantly contributed to Donald J. Trump’s resurgence in the political arena.
The president-elect saw an increase in his voter base in a city that had previously been largely unwelcoming to him. This influx compelled Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, to reassess one of the city’s foundational principles: the commitment to provide shelter for anyone in need.
As the number of migrants surged at an unprecedented rate, the city faced the urgent necessity of constructing large temporary tent facilities to accommodate the growing population.
