New York City Mayor Eric Adams has a novel idea as his administration continues to deal with thousands of migrants and illegal aliens being sent to the Big Apple: He wants residents to pay for at least some of them to attend college.
That’s right.
The money that the Empire State takes from its residents will go toward educating migrants seeking asylum, if Mayor Adams gets his way.
The New York Post reported:
Adams plans to provide as many as 100 migrants with 12 months of classes, room and board in upstate Sullivan County — and the project could continue indefinitely, The Post has learned.
The pilot program — to be overseen by Adams’ newly created city agency, the Office of Asylum Seeker Operations — involves both SUNY Sullivan community college in tiny Loch Sheldrake and The Center for Discovery, a special education school in nearby Harris.
The cost to taxpayers hasn’t been disclosed but will likely exceed $1.2 million in the first year, based on the price tag for two semesters at SUNY Sullivan alone.
The pilot program will “focus on resettlement and legal services, as well as a new 24/7 arrival center for asylum seekers,” according to a press release.
While this is a progressive white savior dream, others are not so keen on the idea. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) told the Post that Adams “is incentivizing and rewarding illegal immigration simply to export the crisis of Democrats’ own making out of New York City.”
Breitbart News noted that, “[s]ince April 2021, some 50,000 migrants have arrived in the Democrat-run sanctuary city, with more than 30,000 still in the city’s care.”
Many of these individuals are being sheltered in 85 hotels using taxpayer funding. The massive influx of migrants has harmed small businesses that typically rely on tourist dollars to stay afloat.
In a statement announcing the creation of the OASA, Adams said:
New Yorkers know that the asylum seeker of today is the citizen, the leader, and the innovator of tomorrow, and I’m proud that New York City is leading the way, turning a crisis into an opportunity for progress for the entire country.
State Sen. George Borrello, a Republican, told the Post that the mayor “is trying to spread the burden throughout the state,” and that he and Gov. Kathy Hochul “are basically covering for Biden’s failure to control the southern border.”
He added: “I guess this is about as clear as we can get that the Biden administration is not helping us at all — and that it’s simply on us to set these people up for the rest of their lives in the US.”
So, let’s sum this up, shall we?
New York City has been experiencing a serious influx of migrants and illegal aliens because President Joe Biden is not serious about securing the border or enforcing immigration policy. In response, Mayor Adams is forcing residents to pay for their lodging and wishes to take their money to also pay for 100 of these folks to attend college. This, while New York City’s businesses are suffering.
Sounds pretty progressive, doesn’t it?
