Statement by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Services for Asylum Seekers

New York, NY – In a statement on services for asylum seekers, Comptroller Brad Lander reiterated his call for the City to focus on helping people in shelters get into permanent housing:

“Washington and Albany absolutely must step up to pay their share for the shelter and services that NYC is providing for asylum seekers. A serious commitment in the state budget to pay the full one-third of the costs that the Governor promised has yet to materialize. Washington needs to accelerate the processing of work authorization, expand Temporary Protected Status and other legal pathways, and dole out the funding due to New York City and other municipalities that pay to house asylum seekers.

“The City of New York can and must do a lot more, right now to assist people applying for legal status and work authorization, as well as support pathways to jobs and permanent housing that will both help them get on their feet and reduce the strain on our shelter system.

“As our ‘Accounting for Asylum Seekers’ report last month proposed, the City could cut down on the costs of opening new emergency shelters by scaling up efforts to enable homeless New Yorkers to move from shelter into permanent housing. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to help new arrivals file their asylum applications before the one year deadline, so that they can receive work authorization as soon as possible.

“City Hall announced it was moving toward this approach in ‘The Road Forward’ blueprint over a month ago, but we have yet to see any progress. Right now, we are spending over 99% of our resources on temporary shelter measures, and less than 1% towards helping new arrivals build new lives that will contribute to our city’s cultural and economic vitality.”

Read Comptroller Lander’s report “Accounting for Asylum Seekers” here.

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