NY County Declares 'State Of Emergency' Over 300 NYC Migrants

NEW YORK CITY — A plan to bus willing asylum seekers to the suburbs has sparked outrage upstate where leaders declared a "state of emergency" Monday, but New York City lawmakers say this is just racist rhetoric.

Rockland County executive Ed Day announced Monday he'll prohibit hotels in his area from housing without a license about 300 migrants the city planned to send his way.

"Rockland is not going to stand idly by while your administration, which boasts itself as a Sanctuary City, diverts busloads of undocumented individuals to our county," Day said

"The mayor is engaged in human trafficking of the worst kind."

But City Hall argues Day is engaged in racist rhetoric, noting Rockland County has been tasked with caring for less than 1 percent of about 61,000 asylum seekers sent to New York City.

The city has also pledged to foot the bill for up to four months of temporary shelter in Rockland County, along with three daily meals, health care, laundry, and additional services, officials said.

"The Rockland County executive has sadly already shown he is not a leader this state needs," said City Hall spokesperson Fabian Levy. "Instead, we’ve been met with racist rhetoric and reprehensible threats."

This war of words comes as Mayor Eric Adams faces backlash over a controversial decision to house migrant families in the NYPD's former police academy building, which advocates note is approved only for single adult men.

"Private sleeping quarters are required for families’ safety, for mothers to privately nurse newborns, to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases, and to prevent sexual assault," the Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless said in a joint statement Monday.

“The City cannot shelter families with children in congregate settings."

But pressure is mounting for Adams to find more migrant housing with end of Title 42, which allows the U.S. to turn away would-be migrants without a hearing, on May 11.

The policy shift is predicted to increase the already high number of people who come to New York seeking asylum, and whose care has already cost the city an estimated $4.2 billion.

Adams puts the blame on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whom he accused of deliberately trying to "hurt" major cities with Black mayors by sending them asylum seekers without permission.

Day, meanwhile, accused Adams of playing "the race card."

Patch writer Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• NYC Plan For Migrants 'Like Human Trafficking' - Rockland County Exec
• Rockland Officials Oppose NYC Plan To House Immigrants In Orangetown
• NYC Turns NYPD Facility Into Asylum Seeker Housing, Union Says
• Adams Advances Push To Resettle NYC Migrants Upstate
• New Plan For NYC Migrants Includes New Cities, Mayor Won't Say Where