The cold-weather scenes have crystallized the alarming strain that the arrival of more than 140,000 asylum seekers since spring last year has placed on the city.
In Chicago, migrants have been sleeping in buses and on the floor of police stations, while Massachusetts has warned that its shelter system had reached full capacity.
City Hall has said budget constraints mean it will have to cut spending on migrant care soon.
Anne Williams-Isom, the deputy mayor leading the city’s response to the crisis, said during a news conference last Tuesday that New York was at capacity.
“We’re running out of staff, we’re running of money, we’re running out of space,” she said.
Persons:
Eric Adams, Mayor Adams, Anne Williams, Joshua Goldfein
Organizations:
City, Legal Aid Society
Locations:
Chicago, Massachusetts, York