‘Unacceptable and Irresponsible’: GOP Congresswoman Raps NYC Mayor’s Plan to House Illegal Aliens in Schools

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is under fire after announcing tentative plans to house illegal aliens in public schools over the summer.  

“Our schools and educational resources should be dedicated to our children, not diverted to support unvetted migrants who are entering our country illegally,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., told The Daily Signal.  

New York City has struggled to find housing and resources for more than 84,000 illegal aliens seeking asylum who have come through the city’s intake system since last spring.

“As Mayor Adams has said repeatedly, we have more than 51,800 asylum seekers in our care and have reached capacity,” a spokesperson for City Hall told The Daily Signal in a prepared statement Friday. “While this option is not ideal, none are, and we are in no position to take anything off the table.” 

Between 20 and 30 schools are being considered as possible temporary shelters for illegal aliens over the summer, according to the mayor’s office. The New York Post reports that New Dorp High School on Staten Island, Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted and Talented in Brooklyn, and Russell Sage Middle School in Queens are among the schools being considered for housing the migrants.

But Tenney says that Adams, a Democrat, “should not be risking the safety of our students by using our schools and educational resources to cover for the Biden administration’s negligence at the border.” 

Since President Joe Biden took office, Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 5 million illegal aliens at America’s southwest border. Since the start of fiscal year 2023 in October, CBP has encountered 1.6 million illegal aliens there, compared with 458,088 in all of fiscal year 2020, the final full year of the Trump administration.  

Adams should “refuse to allow illegal immigrants to be housed at our schools,” Tenney said, adding that the mayor should “take further action to make clear that those who travel here illegally will not receive taxpayer-subsidized housing under New York City’s ‘right to shelter’ policy, which was never intended to be applied in this context.” 

The Big Apple’s “right to shelter” policy requires the city to provide shelter to every homeless person or family who requests it. New York City is also a “sanctuary city,” meaning the city won’t deport migrants because they are in the country illegally, which has likely contributed to the influx of migrants flooding into the city after crossing the border illegally. 

“Housing illegal immigrants in schools is unacceptable and irresponsible,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told The Daily Signal. “This is another failed attempt from Eric Adams to deal with the illegal immigration crisis created by his ‘sanctuary city’ policies and Biden’s border crisis. Unlike Democrats, who are doing everything in their power to worsen this crisis, House Republicans passed a strong border security bill as well as legislation condemning and prohibiting the use of school facilities from being used to house illegal immigrants.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has sent busloads of illegal aliens to New York City. Adams has been critical of Abbott and of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another Republican who has sent illegal aliens to Democrat-run sanctuary cities. 

Adams’ announcement this week is not the first time the mayor has suggested using school facilities to house illegal aliens. In May, he announced that the city was considering using school gymnasiums to house migrants.  

“We have 20 stand-alone gymnasiums throughout the city,” Adams said in an interview with WPIX-TV’s “Morning News.” “They stand alone. They’re not a part of the school building. They are on the list of potential locations that we may have to use.” 

The New York City Public Schools press office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment. 

Adams’ announcement comes less than a week after CBP announced it was increasing the number of appointments for migrants to claim asylum at ports of entry using the CBP One mobile application. CBP is now offering 1,450 per day, up from 1,250. CBP was originally taking 1,000 appointments a day.  

“CBP is expanding the number of available appointments at ports of entry for the second time in less than two months, through scheduling enhancements and operational efficiencies,” Troy Miller, a senior official performing the duties of commissioner, said in a statement June 30. “By utilizing innovative technologies like CBP One, we are improving the delivery of our homeland security mission and providing for safe and efficient processes at ports of entry.”

Currently, under the Biden administration, illegal aliens are being released into the country after claiming asylum, said Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection during the Trump administration.  

“It doesn’t matter if you illegally enter in between the ports of entry, or you walk up to a port of entry, and you’re otherwise inadmissible [lacking a visa, passport, or other legal document for entry],” Morgan said. “If you claim asylum, under this administration, you are processed and released in the United States.”   

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