New York Gov. Kathy Hochul gives a speech on the Hudson River tunnel project at the West Side Yard on January 31, 2023 in New York City. President Biden traveled to New York to speak about how the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law will help fund the Hudson River tunnel project and improve reliability for the 200,000 passenger trips per weekday on Amtrak and NJ Transit.
Given the surge of over 125,000 individuals into New York City, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul announced the creation of 18,000 new jobs for qualified asylum seekers and migrants.
Employment for Asylum Seekers
Hochul said on Monday, October 2, that since evaluation and outreach began on August 24, the state's Department of Labor has found over 18,000 private sector job opportunities at 379 organizations throughout the state. These companies have identified tasks that might be filled by persons with legal work status.
In the figures provided by the governor's office, almost 24% of the available jobs are in the hotel and food services industry, spread among 90 separate enterprises. A further 79 organizations, or 21%, may be found in the health care and social support sector. A total of 10% of the available positions are in manufacturing at 38 companies, while 8%77 are in administrative support at 29 companies.
According to Fox News, Hochul said at a news conference, "We have to manage the fact that there are 125,000 people right now, up until tomorrow, have not been eligible to work, and have relied on public support for housing ... That is not a sustainable dynamic ... I'm going to call on businesses to sign up even more."
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Mayor Adams' Contentious Plan
The identified job openings are dispersed across the state of New York, seemingly in coordination with Mayor Eric Adams' controversial decompression strategy to relieve pressure on the city. These regions include the Capital Region, Central Region, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier, and Western Region.
New York City offers 9,801 available jobs that asylum seekers may apply for.
Despite open opposition from or legal battles with local leaders, the state has identified 2,896 spaces in the Hudson Valley and 1,294 openings on Long Island for the relocation of largely male migrants to hotels for prolonged months-long stays.
Assisting Venezuelans
At a news conference on Monday, Hochul lauded the Biden administration for providing Venezuelans with temporary protection status and fast-tracking their applications for work permits. According to New York City estimates, over 15,000 Venezuelans will be able to get legal employment status in the next 30 days.
Meanwhile, about 60% of the migrants who have landed in New York City are not from Venezuela, according to the governor's estimate. More than 2,100 members of the National Guard have been sent to deal with the current migrant crisis, and Hochul has mobilized 250 of them to provide full-time case management services for asylum seekers.
