Etched on New York's iconic Statue of Liberty are the words, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". But in this city of immigrants space is increasingly scarce for those huddled masses.
"This issue will destroy New York City," the frustrated Mayor Eric Adams told reporters in recent weeks. Adams' rhetoric and response to the influx of migrants has been harshly criticized by some, but the Mayor says the city simply cannot cope with the volume of people arriving, and feels officials are running out of options.
Each month 10,000 migrants arrive in Manhattan - 116,000 since last April. Many have arrived on buses from states on the US border, like Texas. Its' Governor, Greg Abbott, was in New York speaking to an audience this week and offered little sympathy for those who complain about him sending asylum-seekers north.
"What you are seeing and witnessing in this state is a tiny fraction of what is happening in the state of Texas," Abbott said.
Asylum seekers are arriving in New York because Texas wants to share the burden of supporting asylum seekers - arguing all states should be sharing the responsibility. The Republican state feels the Democratic President Joe Biden isn't doing enough to help. When migrants make the arduous crossing over the US southern border, buses arrive to take them elsewhere. In many cases that has included New York, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Unlike other cities, New York has a legal obligation to offer shelter to people who need it. Whether that's homeless New Yorkers or migrants who have just arrived here. The law dates back to the 1980s, and still applies today. New York has already opened 190 emergency shelters and is considering erecting giant tents in Central Park.
While this is a political issue, it's also a personal one for those who have come here, with nothing. Ilze Thielman volunteers for the non-governmental organization "Team TLC", which operates a location in Midtown Manhattan. It's called The Little Shop of Kindness, and it's a place where asylum seekers can pick up essential items for free. She can see first-hand how little these people have when they arrive.
"We have a lot of children coming here with no shoes, like they'll literally come in with bare feet," Thielman tells Newshub. "We're seeing people who are exhausted, scared, and don't know what's going to happen next. So, when they come into the shop, we try to give them some level of comfort."
But Ilze's team will never be able to service every migrants' needs in New York. A city that has always welcomed people from across the world, now struggling to care for its newest residents.
