Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth said Wednesday that he has not received any information suggesting migrants would be sent to Huntington.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been busing immigrants, who were sent to New York from Texas, to be housed in upstate hotels, and has complained that the city’s resources are overtaxed.
It is unclear what authority Adams or Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, have to move the migrants, some of whom are claiming asylum, to other locations.
Smyth said he had spoken with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office Wednesday morning and was told that there are no plans “at this time” to move immigrants to Long Island, and that the governor is working with New York City to provide housing there.
Smyth said, “As the son of two immigrants, I’ve seen first-hand all the benefits the United States provides to those choosing to relocate to this Country. I’ve also seen the benefits that immigrants provide to the United States. I support individuals or families looking to come to the United States in search of a better life. We need more legal immigration. It is the illegal immigration process into this Country that is a problem. The deliberate chaos at our southern border is not only a humanitarian crisis but a national embarrassment.”
On Tuesday, Riverhead declared a state of emergency, anticipating an influx, with Supervisor Yvette Aguiar saying, “I issued an executive order to put them on notice that we will not accept these individuals,” Aguiar said. It is a matter of public safety, she said.
“We cannot — we don’t have the services, we don’t have the funding. We don’t have the locations,” the supervisor said.
For decades, some cities have been busing homeless people to other communities they say are better able to deal with them.
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