NYC to comply with ruling barring migrants from being housed in Onondaga County
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New York City confirmed Wednesday that it will comply with a Syracuse judge’s temporary orders preventing a hotel in Salina from housing incoming migrants.
Judge Robert Antonacci of the Onondaga County Supreme Court approved the two temporary orders Tuesday, blocking as many as 200 migrants from being housed in Candlewood Suites Syracuse-Airport Hotel, syracuse.com reported. Local Republican officials have criticized New York City’s plan to send migrants upstate.
Republic County Executive McMahon issued an executive order barring county motels and hotels from housing groups of migrants on May 18. In a May 11 tweet, he wrote that the federal government needed to “do its job and secure the border.”
“By no means at this point are we prepared to accept migrants from other governments,” McMahon wrote.
Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican representing New York’s 22nd district, also remains a vocal critic of New York City’s plan and denounced the Biden Administration in a tweet Wednesday. He’s previously criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul for “exporting the migrant crisis” to central New York.
The influx of migrants to New York City comes after the end of Title 42 — a pandemic-era immigration policy used by then-President Donald Trump and later reinstated by President Joe Biden that denies people from seeking asylum in the United States to “stop the introduction of communicable diseases.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on May 9 — two days before Title 42 was set to expire — to expand resources to support asylum seekers and call on the National Guard to further aid the state. The order mobilized an additional 500 National Guard members and allows New York State and localities to quickly purchase supplies like food and equipment.
On Monday, Onondaga County filed a lawsuit against New York City claiming it can only create temporary shelters for adults within its own five boroughs. The lawsuit also claims the owners of the Salina hotel are kicking out long-term residents to create space for the influx of migrants. Separately, the town of Salina filed a lawsuit against the hotel’s owners for violations of zoning laws.
