Resettling Of Migrant Children On Long Island Causes Uproar

SYOSSET, NY — What has been called a secret resettlement of unaccompanied minors from the US-Mexico border has many politicians angry and confused, saying they were left in the dark about children being flown to the New York area.

An investigation by the New York Post found that unaccompanied minors from the border were flown to Westchester County Airport late at night, and then put on buses and taken to locations in New Jersey, and to a facility here on Long Island.

According to the Post, some of the children were taken to the MercyFirst facility in Syosset. MercyFirst is a home for teens and children who have been the victim of abuse or lost parents. The organization's website says it also provides services for immigrant youth and families.

Congressman Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who represents the Syosset area, said that there were about 100 children at the MercyFirst facility, and 50 of them were related to immigration. The others are child welfare cases. Suozzi said there was no great influx of children at the facility — it's the same it has always been. Those children are then relocated within 40 or 50 days.

But Suozzi told the Post that he was "very angry and frustrated" that he wasn't informed by the Biden administration that children were being taken to his district.

"We need to know how many kids are coming, which school districts are they coming to and how can we get money to our school districts to address this new influx," Suozzi said at a press conference.

According to a letter Suozzi sent the president, the Office of Refugee Resettlement has documented 2,494 unaccompanied children have been relocated to Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties as of June.

In the letter, Suozzi said his largest concern is the strain these children could put on local schools.

"Our educators are humanitarians and welcome these children with open arms, but due to the lack of necessary financial resources to educate them, we cannot continue to ask the local communities to provide the funding," he wrote.

At a news conference on Oct. 19, Fox News's Peter Doocy asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki about the late-night flights coming to the area. Psaki admitted they were "early flights," and said that the government had a legal and moral responsibility to care for unaccompanied children until they could be united with a parent or vetted sponsor.

"In recent weeks, unaccompanied children passed through the Westchester Airport...in route to their final destination to be reunited with their parents or vetted sponsor," Psaki said. "It's no surprise that kids can be seen traveling through states, not just New York. We're also working to unite children with their families or vetted sponsors in other parts of the country as well."

But some are not satisfied with the explanation. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Republican who represents the state's 2nd District on Long Island's South Shore, said he was worried about unaccompanied minors coming into the area.

"This attempt by your administration to quietly transport unaccompanied minors in the dead of night is unconscionable," Garbarino wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden. "My constituents and I deserve to know who is entering our community. The fact that security vetting information and the COVID-19 status of these migrants are unknown is extremely alarming to me as the representative for the almost 700,000 Americans in NY-02 who may now be exposed to security and health risks."

Garbarino also said he was concerned about the possibility of the children joining gangs like MS-13 and bringing violence to the area, as well as the strain on local resources.

"My constituents should not have to bear the financial burden of providing food, housing, and education for these migrants," Garbarino wrote.

But New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that New York will help as many of the unaccompanied children as it can.

“While the transportation and settlement of these children is under federal jurisdiction, New York is ready to assist however we can," a spokeswoman for the governor said. "Under Governor Hochul, New York will always welcome immigrants, especially children, in search of a better life.”