No Plans 'At This Time' To Move Immigrants To LI, Huntington Supervisor Says

HUNTINGTON, NY — The influx of migrants has reached New York, and elected officials are scrambling to decide where to place them.

While Town of Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth said Gov. Kathy Hochul told him there are no plans "at this time" to move migrants to Long Island, he said he has heard there has been outreach to hotels across the state to determine the availability of rooms. Huntington has not been notified of an influx of immigrants yet, Smyth said.

"As the son of two immigrants, I’ve seen first-hand all the benefits the United States provides to those choosing to relocate to this country," Smyth said in a statement. "I’ve also seen the benefits that immigrants provide to the United States."

Smyth said he supports people looking to enter the United States in search of a better life.

"We need more legal immigration," he said. "It is the illegal immigration process into this country that is a problem. The deliberate chaos at our southern border is not only a humanitarian crisis but a national embarrassment."

New York City officials are considering sending immigrants to a jail on Rikers Island, according to Mayor Eric Adams and a new report.

The Otis Bantum Correctional Center, a 1,700-bed jail closed last year over staffing shortages, is being considered as a future shelter for incoming migrants, the Daily News reported Wednesday.

Twenty school gyms and NYPD buildings have both been floated as potential migrant housing centers, or actively used as them. The city also tried to voluntarily bus immigrants to nearby counties, which drew an outcry.

Space is running out as more migrants arrive, Adams said Wednesday, noting that nearly half of the city's hotel rooms are now being used to house asylum seekers.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar declared a state of emergency on Wednesday over migrants and asylum-seekers that she said could be headed to the area.

Aguiar declared the state of emergency, the town said, based on information received and in response to reports that the New York City Department of Homeless Services has, or will arrange for, the transportation and relocation of undocumented migrants and/or asylum seekers to hotels or motels within the Town of Riverhead.