Cortland County Legislature Chairman Kevin Fitch has blocked all municipalities, hotel and motel owners, and private property owners from housing asylum seekers.
Fitch (R-Homer, Scott) declared a state of emergency Friday evening, renewable every five days, to block the asylum seekers as a Trump-era portion of federal Title 42 expired Friday, allowing the nation to prevent asylum seekers from entering the United States under a public health concern during the coronavirus pandemic, which ended last week.
The declaration followed a similar act in Broome County, and joins Orange, Rockland, Oneida, Rensselaer, Chemung and Tioga counties in blocking the largely Latino asylum seekers expected to enter through the national’s southern borders and be bused to New York City.
“Sending busloads of persons seeking asylum to Cortland County has the potential to create a public safety emergency. Cortland County officials are issuing these orders to maintain the safety and well-being of residents,” Fitch said in announcing the declaration.
No municipality in Cortland County can house asylum seekers without Fitch’s permission, the declaration states. No hotel, motel, multi-family dwelling unit or other property owner can do so, either. Violators face a ticket on a Class B misdemeanor and a fine of up to $2,000.
However, nobody has announced a plan to send asylum seekers any farther away from New York City than Rockland and Orange counties hh— which are being sued by the New York Civil Liberties Union for their declarations blocking out asylum seekers.
“Orange and Rockland County’s Emergency Orders egregiously violate migrants’ rights,” said Amy Belsher, director of immigrants’ rights litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a statement. “Migrants have every right to travel and reside anywhere in New York, free of xenophobic harassment and discrimination. People are not political pawns –— both counties should welcome migrants into their communities, not unlawfully bar them from seeking refuge.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced last week a plan to bus what asylum seekers may arrive — the city now has sheltered about 65,000 over the past year — to shelters in Rockland County. Gov. Kathy Hochul has mobilized the National Guard members and sent a letter to President Joseph Biden for federal assistance to erect temporary housing.
“New Yorkers are working together to welcome asylum seekers and provide the necessary shelter and resources for these individuals who are simply coming to our state looking for a better life,” Hochul said in a release.
“For months, I have been urging our federal leaders to provide needed flexibility and additional support for New York as we handle unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers arriving in our state. I will continue working hand-in-hand with leaders from all levels of government to coordinate our statewide response and secure the resources we need to support these new arrivals.”
As the city faces growing pressure to expand its shelter system, it is turning to vacant hotels for those who need a roof and a place to bunk down, including the Holiday Inn in Manhattan’s Financial District, a 500-room hotel, and the 850-room Roosevelt Hotel. Adams also said he would consider reopening a Dutchess County prison for the asylum seekers.
POLITICO reports that Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio also floated the idea of housing asylum seekers at SUNY New Paltz.
“This is a national crisis that should not be left to New York State counties,” Fitch said in announcing the declaration. “A national plan needs to be put together, with a plan for how to house, feed, provide medical care, and so forth for these people. Cortland County, along with other New York counties, is not prepared for a flood of asylum seekers, and it is not fair to the County, or the asylum seekers, to send busloads of people with no plan of what to do with them after they arrive,” Fitch said, adding that Cortland County must cope with a homeless population and opioid users.
The U.S.-Mexico border was relatively calm late last week as the U.S. ended its pandemic-era immigration restrictions and migrants adapted to new asylum rules and legal pathways meant to discourage illegal crossings. Many migrants in northern Mexico resigned themselves to waiting for an appointment rather than approaching the border without authorization.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
