Photos: YouTube Screenshots
NEW YORK, NY – In response to two policy changes announced by the Adams administration yesterday, which would allow migrant families with elementary-school children to stay in their current shelter following their second 60-day notice and create a centralized mail center for asylum seekers, Natalia Aristizabal, Deputy Director of Make the Road New York, issued the following statement on behalf of the organization’s 28,000 members:
“From the very start, the Mayor’s shelter stay limits were inhumane, designed to cause suffering and chaos rather than to ensure that our new neighbors had a roof over their heads. As a result of these policies, tens of thousands of families have faced needless pain over the last year and children’s lives have been thrown into upheaval. While reversing the 60-day limit for families with young children is a welcome first step, it must be extended by ending the limits for all families with children in school, including in middle school or high school.
“And while the administration made the right move in setting up a mail center for migrants, this move only happened because of years of advocacy from grassroots organizations, including many who set up ad-hoc post offices in their own offices and homes. Access to mail is essential for asylum seekers who are awaiting updates on their status, and this mail center should be made permanent in the near future.”
