Eric Adams says asylum seeker died by suicide at New York shelter
A New York City asylum seeker died by suicide in a shelter over the weekend, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.
Adams called Sunday’s death a tragedy and “a reminder that we have an obligation to do everything in our power to help those in need,” he said in a statement.
No other information has been released about the death. During an unrelated press conference on Monday, Adams referred to the woman as a mother. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
“I believe the woman was traumatized by this whole experience,” Adams said Monday.
Adams said the city has opened 23 emergency shelters for the 11,600 asylum seekers and migrants who have arrived in the city. He did not detail or give a timeframe for that number, but WABC reported last week that more than 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since May, citing the mayor’s chief adviser. Many of them to the bus from Texas.
New York City is among several U.S. conservation cities that receive immigrants from Florida and Texas as Govs. Greg Abbot and Ron DeSantis sent buses carrying migrants from their states in response to the immigration policies of the Biden administration.
Last week, Florida’s DeSantis sent about 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Authorities there requested a federal human trafficking investigation on Sunday. DeSantis and Abbott also sent migrants to Chicago and Washington, where some were released outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The failure is that governors have sent people on buses for days without proper food, without medical care (and) without essential needs,” Adams said.
Adams called the influx of asylum seekers a second “artificial humanitarian crisis.” When asked about comments he made Sunday regarding legal action against the Texas government, the mayor said the city is exploring all legal options.
Adams said Abbott’s office “refused” to coordinate when New York officials contacted them but that the mayor of El Paso was willing to coordinate the arrival of migrants in a “humane way.”
Adams made it clear Monday that the city cannot handle all of El Paso’s migrants.
“We’re not telling anyone that New York can take in every migrant in the city. We’re not encouraging people to send eight or nine buses a day,” he said. “We say that as a sanctuary and a city with a right to shelter, we will do our part.”
Adams encourages asylum seekers to take advantage of the mental health services available at New York Asylum Resource Navigation Centeropened last week as a headquarters to help migrants who have been coming to the city since January.
Contribution: John Bacon, USA TODAY
THAN:Will DeSantis’ migration tactics backfire politically with the key voting bloc?
immigrant crisis:Migrant buses to Washington, New York and Chicago begin in the Texas border town