OAN’s James Meyers
11:00 AM – Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called in the National Guard to help with the ongoing migrant crisis in her state.
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The announcement came on Monday, which includes an additional 150 National Guard members on top of the already 2,000 members dealing with the flood of migrants.
Additionally, Hochul (D-N.Y.) said 250 of the National Guard members’ main focus will be on “case management” to help assist Venezuelans who came before July 31st, 2023, in applying for Temporary Protected Status, and later on, work authorization.
This comes after the Biden administration announced that illegal immigrants from Venezuela, who have been in the United States since July 31st, 2023, will be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status.
“Now that we have the opportunity granted by President Biden to help the Venezuelans who came before July 31st be able to apply for temporary protective status and what follow that literally with the same application, is the work authorization — that coveted work authorization. That’s their ticket to the American Dream,” she said.
“You’ll be helping them get a job, helping them support themselves, helping them leave these shelters, because I believe they did not come all these thousands of miles to live in a shelter with hundreds, if not thousands of others,” Hochul said. “So the National Guard has already been working to survey them. We have different categories. Some people are eligible to work right now if they already came in through the Customs and Border Protection app. There are people qualified for that. There are parolees eligible to work. There are the asylum seekers who need to apply for asylum and wait 180 days. And now we have this new category that allow the expedited work permits for Venezuelans who arrived here earlier.”
Hochul stated that this plan will be costing the state $22 million monthly, due to the deployment of National Guardsmen. She also asserted that she has dedicated over $50 million to support case management all over The Empire State.
Additionally, Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D-N.Y.) recently expressed that the migrant crisis will “destroy” New York if they do not receive more federal financial support.
President Joe Biden did not meet with Adams but instead met with Hochul in his recent visit to New York.
The Biden administration announced after the visit that Homeland Security would be approving work authorization and deportation delays for close to 470,000 Venezuelans already residing in the U.S.
“After an intensive lobbying effort with the White House and the collaboration that resulted with President Biden being engaged and helping us with that decision on the asylum seekers just a few days ago, that is a path. It is a very strong opportunity for us to start helping some of these people,” Hochul said Monday.
“And the numbers continue to grow, and we’re there to be their partners. But to those who question even why this is happening, this is New York,” she said. “You need to remember this is New York. We celebrate our diversity. We celebrate who we are. We will not be this state if we were not open to immigrants around the world.”
Furthermore, the New York governor said the state is currently covering between 40% to 45% of the housing costs of migrants so far.
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