The wave of immigrants that began arriving in New York from the southern border last year was unusual in many ways. Unlike most immigrants to the city, people take the buses en masse, many with very few local ties and little more than clothes on their backs. Mayor Eric Adams said Friday that more than 36,000 people have arrived in the city since spring, with roughly 24,000 remaining.
While the Biden administration is looking for ways to take control of the southern border, those who came last year are starting to build new lives. Some are struggling. Others are taking steps.
New York has been the first stop for immigrants for centuries, and the city offers some unique protections. It is one of the few places that guarantees housing to those in need, and has strong legal and social safety net protections for immigrants. Newcomers also benefited from assistance provided by a large network of relatively well-funded nonprofits.
Yet there are still obstacles. Bus travel began as a political gamble, in part by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona to draw attention to the border crisis, in contrast to the usual immigration patterns where people connect with family or friends. Many of the recent immigrants have relied heavily on official aid, and nonprofits, volunteer groups and the city say they are overwhelmed by the spike. While most immigrants hope to apply for asylum, the backlog in the immigration court means the process can take years.
Much of the border debate in recent weeks has revolved around the use of Title 42, a public health provision used to deny people from some countries asylum at the border during the coronavirus pandemic. Right after Christmas, the Supreme Court left the verdict in effect for the time being.
Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians will now be excluded using Title 42, a policy that has been expanded this fall to include Venezuelans, President Biden said on Thursday. Mr Adams lauded the move on Friday, calling it “one of the steps we need”, but warned that the city still needs much more help to pay for asylum seekers’ care.
Meanwhile, immigrants not subject to Title 42 or those arriving before expansion still make their way to New York. Mr. Adams said this month that the governor of Colorado will send immigrants to the city. A local volunteer said three buses from that state arrived late last week.
Finding jobs so they can be independent is key for these new New Yorkers – dozens of them have said in interviews that their main priority is to support themselves and send money home. Although they are not allowed to work due to federal rules, many find employment in industries such as construction, restaurants, and the service industry.
“I’m not lost anymore.”
Nearly eight years after leaving his hometown of Venezuela and moving to Colombia, then Mexico, 48-year-old Ismael Guevara finally feels like he is where he will be staying. And it’s only been in town for a little over two months.
“I’ve already gotten used to New York,” she said in Spanish, during her lunch break from the nearby hair salon she was working at at the time, outside a cafe in Jackson Heights, Queens. “I’m not lost anymore, I’m fine. I get where I need to go.”
More about Immigrants in New York
New York has always welcomed and trusted immigrants. But a new wave of people crossing the US border is testing the city’s reputation as a world sanctuary.
- Increasing Homelessness:The arrival of these new immigrants pushed the population of the city’s homeless shelter system to record levels.
- Right to Housing:One reason New York is under pressure is that the city is required by law to provide shelter to anyone who asks.
- Housing: Advocates of the homeless have urged the city to open hotels to deal with the influx of immigrants. Mayor Eric Adams also considered other options, such as cruise ships and tent cities.
- An Uphill Battle:Immigrants who manage to reach the city face many obstacles as they seek housing, work, and a chance to stay legally in the United States.
“Every day I feel like I’m going to stay here and live in New York,” Guevara said. “I feel calm, I don’t need to look for another country.”
He left Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, due to instability and threats to his security. When he finally arrived in New York, he was sent to a winter tent shelter on Randalls Island, which the city planted in October.
After closing – after only a few weeks of operation – he was transferred to a hotel in Midtown Manhattan that was temporarily closed to tourists and instead served as a shelter for single men.
A little over a month ago, Mr. Guevara got a job at a hairdresser’s. She had once been an award-winning stylist for luxury salons and was eager to follow her passion.
Mr. Guevara got a job at a hairdresser, but he hopes to one day open his own hairdresser. Credit… Renkm Mütevellioğlu for The New York Times
He left early for work every day and went to Columbus Circle, took the number 1 train to Times Square, and then took the number 7 train to Queens. He was working seven days a week and had a full client list. He could make several hundred dollars a day. Occasionally, after work, he would stop by a Manhattan bar with live music for Corona or pop into a fast-food joint for fried chicken.
Last week, Ismael quit his job at the hairdresser to set out on his own. She works hard to improve her English and hopes to rent her own flat soon.
“The next step is to open my own salon in the future,” he said. “My salon is in my name. When I have documents, documents and everything.”
“Some days we don’t eat anything.”
Things haven’t been going so well for Akon Patrick Dieudonne, 41, from Haitian, who has been living in Brazil for the past ten years. He said he was a filmmaker and activist fighting for black and Indigenous rights.
He said he left Haiti because of threats against an uncle who was a politician and pastor in his hometown of Gonaïves. He said he moved again in Brazil because of threats from supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.
Like thousands of others, he crossed the Darién Gap, a dangerous and undeveloped piece of land connecting Colombia and Panama that emerged as the main migrant route. On the way he met a Salvadoran woman. The two continued together by entering the United States in San Diego and then flying to New York with the help of an aid group. She is now pregnant with their baby. She lives with herself and her 13-year-old daughter in Row NYC, a Midtown hotel.
Mr. Dieudonne was one of several people who spoke out last month about what they said was abuse in city shelters at a Washington Heights church. He said food, including moldy sandwich bread, made many people sick and often starved. Her partner is anemic and worried about her health.
A spokesperson for the municipality said in a statement that officials had no evidence of rotting food in shelters and offered fresh food throughout the day. The statement said that breakfast and lunch are prepared overnight and delivered each morning, while dinner is prepared during the day and snacks are available around the clock.
When Mr. Dieudonne came to town in October, he thought he’d get to work right away. He was hoping to get a job in film or TV production and would like to have his own company one day. But for now, he hopes to do odd jobs and occasionally walks up to the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, which has a thriving Haitian community. Sometimes she sees Haitian friends or an American friend she met in Brazil. He’s trying to stay positive.
“I see a future out there,” he said. “But it’s very difficult – some days we don’t eat anything.”
“We are more stable.”
Loiseth Colmenares, 31, an immigrant from San Francisco de Tiznados, Venezuela, arrived in New York four months ago with her husband and two sons. The family spent three of these months living at the SpringHill Suites in Queens, which was converted into a shelter to house newly arrived families last year.
At first, Miss Colmenares’ two sons, 10-year-old Omar and 2-year-old Sebastian, were not eating enough because the packaged, reheated meals served at the hotel were very different from what they were used to when they got home. There were non-Spanish speakers in the shelter, so the family had a hard time finding resources. They were concerned about Ms. Colmenares’ mother, sister and niece, who reached the border but was turned away after Title 42 was extended in October to include Venezuelan immigrants.
Now, things seem to be getting better.
“We are more stable,” said Miss Colmenares.
The dishes are “the same but we adapt,” he explained. Life at the hotel has improved: Ms. Colmenares said a new manager has introduced many beneficial changes.
“Every family has a social worker. They made a playroom for the kids. They built a computer room,” he said. Donations from volunteers and nonprofits also helped them get settled. “There are many organizations. They gave us clothes, they gave us Christmas presents,” he said. “They gave my husband some tools.”
They even gifted their son Omar a scooter that he proudly rides on the sidewalks despite the winter cold.
Ms. Colmenares’ husband, 36, Jose Romero, also got a job at a construction site in Queens, Jamaica, where he worked five days a week and earned $20 an hour. Most of the money goes to support relatives who are out of the country, but when Omar turned 10 in early December, Miss Colmenares and her husband bought her her favorite treat: chocolate cake.
Miss Colmenares hopes that some of these family members can join them in New York. He remained in Mexico with his disabled mother, Mrs. Colmenares’ sister and niece. Ms. Colmenares said an organization affiliated with a church there had added their names to a list to expedite their entry into the United States.
“I’ve spoken to the doctors with the priest in charge of the organization and they will do everything in their power to get them across as soon as possible,” he said. “Because it’s really cold and my mother’s lungs are getting sick.”
Miss Colmenares hopes that when they arrive, they will also be placed in a room in the hotel shelter, if space is available.