A poll conducted by Newsweek revealed that 45% of New Yorkers believe that the large number of migrants who have arrived in the city over the past year and a half have had "a significant amount" of impact on their quality of life. An additional 30% said it's had "a fair amount" of impact, with only 8% saying they haven't felt any impact at all.
Close to 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, leaving the city struggling to accommodate the seemingly ever-increasing influx of people and overwhelming the shelter system.
"While New Yorkers have been welcoming of migrants," Newsweek explains, "the city's efforts to meet the flow of new arrivals and provide shelter for all have been costly and tiresome—and the poll shows they're taking a toll on residents."
The poll also revealed that New Yorkers have strong opinions on the impact of immigrants in two issues that heavily affect their every day lives: tourism and crime. When asked about the level of impact the situation is having on the experience of tourists visiting the city, 40% answered that it was "significant", while 34% said "a fair amount" and 17% said the impact was "small".
Similarly, when asked about the impact of the crisis on the city's crime rate, 41% answered that it was "significant", 31% said the impact was "fair", 18% said "small" and 10% said it had no impact at all.
The Newsweek poll also shed light about New Yorkers opinion on the migrant crisis overall. 64% of New York City residents responded the city is facing a migrant crisis, whereas only 11% thought that wasn't the case. The numbers were similar across generations: 76% of Baby Boomers believe the city is facing a migrant crisis against 61% of Gen Xers, 65% of millenials and 45% of Generation Z.
Even though some organizations have praised New York City for its handling of the migrant crisis, Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly pleaded with migrants to not come to the city, saying there are no more resources or space available. A few weeks ago, during a trip to Italy, he scheduled a stop at a migrant facility outside Rome in order to learn about how Italy is handling its own influx of migrants. Many of the migrants arrive in the city as part of Texas "Lone Star Operation," where state authorities send arrivals to Democratic-led sanctuary cities.
Last week, city officials began enforcing a new rule that limits the amount of time some adult asylum-seekers can spend in shelters before having to find accommodation on their own. Migrants without young children must leave after 30 days (or 60 for those aged between 18 and 23) unless they provide proof of "extenuating circumstances." If that's not the case, they will be evicted.
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