White House, blaming Congress, turns down New York's request for help regarding migrant surge

The Biden administration has rejected New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's request for executive action regarding the surge of migrants in the state. 

On Thursday, Hochul wrote a letter to the White House in which she requested help from the executive branch to handle the many migrants coming to the state, mostly going to New York City. 

According to the governor, roughly 100,000 asylum seekers have come to the state in the last year.

“The reality is that we’ve managed thus far without substantive support from Washington, and despite the fact that this is a national, and indeed an inherently federal issue,” Hochul said, according to The Hill. “But New York has shouldered this burden for far too long.”

A spokesperson for the White House said in a statement to CNN that the executive branch could not do anything without action from Congress. 

“Without Congressional action, this Administration has been working to build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system and has worked to identify ways to improve efficiencies and maximize the resources the federal government can provide to communities across the country to support the flow of migrants,” the spokesperson said.

“We will continue to partner with communities across the country to ensure they can receive the support they need,” the statement continued. “Only Congress can provide additional funding for these efforts, which this Administration has already requested, and only Congress can fix the broken immigration system.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also requested the federal government take more action as more and more migrants come to the city. New York City has already received $140 million from the federal government to help cover the costs related to the influx of migrants.  

“The federal government must take action," he said earlier this year. 

The state has earmarked over $1.5 billion to assist with the migrant crisis this year, according to The Hill, and Governor Hochul said she expects that it will be triple that amount next year.  

The city's shelters have been at or near capacity for months already, with officials having to set up temporary housing in hotels, parks, recreation centers and school gyms.