LaLota Leads Letter to Hochul and Adams: "You Break It, You Bought It"
LONG ISLAND, NY - Today, August 28th, 2023, Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01)sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushing back on the reports the Mayor has requested to use locations across New York State to house unvetted and unlawful migrants. LaLota was joined by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), and Nick Langworthy (NY-23).
“Far-left New York City officials enacted sanctuary city policies, blocking local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law. Predictably, New York City has attracted tens of thousands of unvetted migrants— legal and illegal, adult and minor,” said LaLota, a member of the Homeland Security Committee. “Fairness requires that those New York City officials, not suburban and rural counties who have rejected sanctuary city policies, incur the financial, public safety, and education costs with the predictable result of their failed policy choice. Like my father taught me as a child: ‘You break it, you bought it.’”
“The migrant crisis impacting New York is a direct result of the Biden Administration's dereliction of duty when it comes to securing our southern border and of New York City's sanctuary policies which have only encouraged this unsustainable influx of migrants,” said Garbarino, a member of the Homeland Security Committee. “New York City brought this on itself, and the residents of Long Island should not be asked to carry the financial or public safety burden of these bad policies. It's time for Mayor Adams to accept his role in worsening this crisis, end these harmful sanctuary policies, and begin working with law enforcement to enforce America’s immigration laws.”
“We are a nation of immigrants and I strongly believe in enabling the pursuit of the American Dream for those who come here legally. What I do not believe in are Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul’s efforts to force the costs of New York City’s ‘sanctuary city’ status onto surrounding counties and municipalities. New York City must end its ‘sanctuary city status’ and New York State should not be using state facilities to house individuals, many of whom are denied asylum once their cases are finally heard,” said Lawler. “Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams should be joining us in demanding the Biden administration take immediate action to secure our border and stop this continued influx of migrants. We need to have a process that works and ensures that those who want to come to America, can do so legally.”
“The migrant housing crisis is a self-made problem, and the solution is not to turn our schools and military bases into migrant housing encampments, it’s to secure the border,” said Langworthy. “New York taxpayers are sick of paying the price for the Biden-Hochul-Adams mess that is being made worse by the day with this asinine proposal.”
To read the full text of the letter, click HERE.
Background:
More than 100,000 migrants have passed through New York City since spring 2022, and more than 58,000 still remain in the city's care. In a recent Siena College Poll, 82% of New Yorkers say that the recent influx of migrants is a serious problem, with more than 50% labeling it a very serious problem.
In May, LaLota joined Suffolk County officials in a press conference following reports that New York City was looking to bus illegal and unvetted migrants to neighboring counties, including Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.
In June, LaLota voted in favor of a resolution condemning the use of elementary and secondary public school facilities as shelters for migrants who are not legally admitted to the United States.
In July, LaLota helped pass the Schools Not Shelters Act to prevent public schools that receive federal funding from being used as shelters for migrants. The prohibition would prevent public universities, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools from being used for this purpose.
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