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In another sign New York City is grappling with an increase of migrants entering the shelter system, the city has officially opened a sprawling, 84,000-square-foot emergency shelter on Manhattan’s Randall’s Island.
ABC News and other outlets were given a first look inside the center, opening Wednesday, which has a total footprint of 6.4 acres encompassing dormitories, dining facilities, recreation centers and isolation centers for migrants that may contract COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.
The decision to open the center comes amid an effort spearheaded by Texas Gov. Abbott to bus migrants to Democrat-led cities.
While Abbott’s efforts have been criticized as a political stunt to call attention to a broken immigration system, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams that more than 20,500 asylum-seekers have moved through the shelter system since spring, with a majority of them arriving on buses from Texas.
« This situation is caused by political actors, as you know, and New York City is just having to respond and prepare for more people to arrive, » said Manuel Castro, commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
