New York governor urges Biden to help state with migrant surge
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday implored President Joe Biden to take urgent action to help her state absorb a surge of international migrants who have strained resources and filled homeless shelters — putting some Democrats in a vulnerable position in a state usually seen as immigrant-friendly.
In a rare public address, Hochul said she had sent the president a letter asking him to expedite work permits for migrants and provide financial resources to help care for the estimated 100,000 asylum seekers who have come to the state in the last year, mostly to New York City.
“The reality is that we’ve managed thus far without substantive support from Washington, and despite the fact that this is a national, and indeed an inherently federal issue,” Hochul said in speech delivered in Albany. “But New York has shouldered this burden for far too long.”