Dutchess exec blasts NYC over migrants’ arrival
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. >> Between 60 to 80 migrants from New York City arrived on buses Sunday at the Red Roof Inn in the town of Poughkeepsie, according to Dutchess County Executive William F.X. O’Neil.
In a statement issued Monday, O’Neil, a Republican, said New York City officials were silent about the transport to Dutchess County of between 60 and 80 migrants.
“Despite repeated requests, Dutchess County has not received any information about individuals, legally in NYC’s custodial care, who have been transported by NYC to Dutchess County,” O’Neil said. “Yesterday, (Sunday) Town of Poughkeepsie police reported two buses arrived at the Red Roof Inn in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Again, despite requests to NYC for information, the County has no information about these individuals, including their identities, how long they’ll be in our community, or the total number of people.”
O’Neil said the numbers are estimates.
“While the County does not have a confirmed number of individuals that arrived yesterday, (Sunday) it is estimated that as many as 60 to 80 individuals arrived based on police observations and media reports”
The owner of the Red Roof Inn and other local hotels, Sam Patel, has also been uncooperative in sharing information, O’Neil said.
“This silence has forced Dutchess County to seek the required information through legal means,” O’Neil said.
“New York City Mayor Eric Adams assured counties that advance notice would be provided of any arrivals — that did not happen,” O’Neil said.
“New York City has shown no willingness to coordinate or collaborate with Dutchess County, and New York State has been complicit in exacerbating the issue by taking no action, other than providing New York City with millions of state taxpayer dollars to shelter asylum seekers, yet requiring no coordination, communication or transparency,” O’Neil said.
On Friday, O’Neil issued a statement Friday saying the county declared a state of emergency.
“Continuing our ongoing efforts to protect the residents of Dutchess County, I have executed and filed a State of Emergency and two Executive Orders in relation to New York City’s imminent, forced relocation of migrants and/or asylum seekers to Dutchess County,” O’Neil said on Friday.
The declaration came on the heels of other such orders in Sullivan, Orange, and Greene counties. Ulster County has not issued one.
For the Many, a group that supports progressive causes, was at the Red Roof In to welcome the new arrivals, its members said.
But, the group said, “these men have been subject to racist, xenophobic attacks from local elected officials and the media.”
“They were even the subject of a complex scam involving residents of a Poughkeepsie homeless shelter, who were recruited to pose as veterans supposedly displaced by asylum seekers,” For the Many said, referring to a group accused of making up a story about homeless vets being evicted in Newburgh to make room for migrants. “This scam fooled many elected officials and media outlets while directing death threats and harassment toward migrants.”
“Yesterday (Sunday), we stood with Mid-Hudson Valley DSA members and City of Poughkeepsie Councilmember Megan Deichler to welcome the first buses of asylum seekers to Dutchess County,” said For the Many Political Coordinator and Poughkeepsie resident Daniel Atonna. “Unfortunately, Dutchess County Executive William O’Neil decided that there was no more room in the inn, issuing an executive order similar to his counterparts in other counties. We are hopeful that his efforts to close Poughkeepsie’s borders to migrants will not be successful, and will continue to greet asylum seekers seeking to join our communities in the Hudson Valley.”
“It’s shameful that the County Executive calls himself a Christian while spewing hateful rhetoric defending his position to block asylum seekers from coming to Dutchess County,” said City of Poughkeepsie Councilmember Megan Deichler in a statement. “The Bible provides plenty of examples of how we should treat the vulnerable, including passages such as, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ These individuals are going through the legal process to seek asylum from conditions unimaginable to the average American.”
Appeal to Biden
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, D-City of Newburgh, said Monday he has sent a letter calling on President Biden to provide work papers for asylum seekers who were recently sent from New York City to the town of Newburgh.
“New York City is currently providing the asylum seekers, all able-bodied men, with food and shelter at two local hotels,” Jacobson said in his letter. “But these men do not want to be cared for by our government. They are here to work so they might provide for themselves and build productive lives here in our country. Unfortunately, they are unable to do so because they lack the ability to work here legally,” Jacobson added.
“As our economy continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, local employers have struggled to fill vacancies. Whether it’s food service, farming, home healthcare, or a range of other fields, employers are desperate for workers.”
Jacobson said he has heard from business owners.
“I have personally received multiple phone calls from business owners asking how they might hire some of the asylum seekers now residing in Newburgh,” Jacobson wrote. “Again and again, I must tell them that there is no legal way to hire these workers until the federal government provides waivers that will allow them to work.”
“These asylum seekers will not take jobs away from American workers,” the assemblyman said. “By taking prompt action and granting these men the opportunity to work, we will be helping these men and our local economy by alleviating our ongoing workforce shortage.”