NEWBURG, N.Y. — Two busloads of migrants arrived Thursday at a hotel in Newburgh, Orange County, about 60 miles north of Manhattan, after angry standoffs over the possibility of taking migrants to suburbs near New York City.
They were greeted by about 15 supporters, who waved signs and cheered their arrival, while Newburgh police officers stood aside and allowed the buses to park at the front door of the Crossroads Hotel here.
When the second bus arrived, just before 1 p.m., 19 people got off. They traveled light with two dozen bags between them.
The quiet attendance marked a sharp contrast in recent days to some leaders and residents of Rockland and Orange counties who have vowed to do everything they can to stop New York City Mayor Eric Adams from sending migrants north. .
In Orangetown, a Rockland County city about 45 miles south of Newburgh, that protest took the form of police officers and sheriff’s deputies who parked their cruisers near the entrance to the parking lot of the Armoni Inn & Suites hotel and remained there all week. Orders from district leaders to physically stop and search any busload of migrants arriving.
In Newburgh Thursday morning, after the immigrants arrived, motorcyclists drove past the Crossroads Hotel and shouted obscenities at journalists and immigrant advocates gathered outside.
Those interactions were particularly heated on Wednesday evening when a group of people protesting the arrival of migrants stood in front of the hotel and told supporters of the migrants to “go home”.
“Here we come!” The pro-immigrant protesters shouted back.
The political standoff over where to house the migrants began last Friday, with Mr. Adams announced that he would begin sending them to hotels in Orange and Rockland counties. All immigrants who participated did so voluntarily, Mr. Adams said. They will receive housing in hotels for up to four months, all paid for by the city.
The political response to the mayor’s announcement gripped all levels of New York state government this week. Leaders in both counties declared a state of emergency, as did Governor Cathy Hochul.
“It was poorly executed and indicative of how they handled this matter from Day 1,” said Steven Neuhaus, Orange County Executive. “They really need to start communicating more.”
Rockland County, the city of Orangetown and the city of Newburgh have all sought temporary restraining orders to stop immigrants from entering. The Rockland County Health Department inspected the Armoni Hotel, one of the hotels chosen to house the immigrants, and found that its operating permit had expired in April, said Ed Day, county administrator.
“It was a secret attack in the middle of the night,” said Teresa Kenney, Orangetown’s supervisor, of Mr. Adams said of the decision. “If the mayor really wants a successful plan, it’s his responsibility to call us months in advance.
Mr. Adams began busing immigrants to nearby suburbs as tens of thousands of immigrants, mostly from Latin America, arrived in the city in an effort to rid the city of shelters and hotels.
Buses left town for Newburgh just hours before Title 42 expired, as former President Donald J. An executive order issued by Trump early in the coronavirus pandemic enabled officials to quickly deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants, some of whom might have been granted otherwise. Asylum.
More than 60,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City in the past year, including 4,200 in the past week alone, according to City Hall officials.
Citing federal sources, state officials have warned that weekly attendance could increase to 5,000 once Title 42 expires at midnight.
More than 37,500 migrants are now under city care in more than 120 emergency camps and eight large-scale centers.
New York City is frantically searching for additional space to house them, including an abandoned psychiatric hospital and hangars at Kennedy International Airport. City officials asked the owner of the Flatiron building if he had any room there (he said no).
“We can get thousands of people a day in our city,” said Mr. Adams said.
Even as the buses arrived in Orange County on Thursday, officials there sought a last-minute court injunction to block the city’s plan, Mr. Neuhaus said.
Mr. He and Mr. Adams also criticized Mr. Day has also accused.
As tensions escalated, Mr. Day, Mr. He also threatened to “grab” Adams by the throat.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Fabian Levy, a spokesman for Adams, said it was “impossible to express an iota of the humane and compassionate concern that New York City has shown over the past year.”
On Thursday, the mayor said he had no choice but to send the migrants further north. He also pointed out that unlike Texas Governor Greg Abbott, New York City will pay for immigrants’ hotel rooms and support services.
“Everything is on the table,” the mayor said.
“I mean, it’s an ‘oh shucks’ moment,” he said, referring to the 4,200 immigrant arrivals in the past week. “I only say ‘Shucks’ because I’m on TV. Listen, it’s scary. And Title 42 hasn’t been fired yet.
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