NEW YORK, May 23, (AP): New York City stepped up its efforts to push migrants out of its overwhelmed shelters Wednesday as it began enforcing a new rule that limits some adult asylum-seekers to a month in the system before they have to find a bed on their own.
Migrants without young children must now move out of the hotels, tent complexes and other shelter facilities run by the city and find other housing after 30 days - or 60 days for those aged 18-23 - unless they provide proof of "extenuating circumstances” and are granted an exemption.
As of late Wednesday, 192 migrants had applied for an extension after hitting their limit, and 118 had been approved, Mayor Eric Adams’ office said. Thousands more are expected to receive eviction notices in the coming months.
Mamadou Diallo, a 39-year-old from Senegal, says he’s not sure where he’ll go when his time expires later this week at a shelter in the Bronx.
He hopes to get an extension, noting that he just filed his asylum application and has been taking English classes but can't apply for a work permit under federal rules until about five months after applying for asylum.
"I don’t have anywhere to go,” Diallo said Wednesday. "I’m going to school. I’m looking for a job. I’m trying my best.”
The new restrictions came after Adams' administration in March succeeded in altering the city’s unique " right to shelter ” rule requiring it to provide temporary housing for every homeless person who asks for it.
Before the new rule came into effect, adult migrants without children were still limited to 30 days in a shelter, but they were able to immediately reapply for a new bed with no questions asked.
The city also restricts migrant families with young children to 60-day stays, but they aren’t impacted by the new rule and can still reapply without providing any justification.