BUFFALO, N.Y. — The ongoing challenges presented by asylum seekers continue to plague local and state governments, so Gov. Kathy Hochul went public again Thursday to request more help from Washington.
We have heard some similar pleas to the Biden Administration before.
With more headlines on protests against migrant shelters out of New York City, ongoing hotel shelter questions and concerns here in Erie County, and even statewide polls showing serious public concern on the migrant issue, Governor Hochul used her on line speech on Thursday to again push the Biden Administration for help.
Hochul said, "Our quest continues to squarely tell the White House, 'let them work.' Until that happens, we'll continue to need funding and sites from the federal government to help cover the massive expense of sheltering tens of thousands of people."
Hochul sent a personal letter to President Biden on those points even after admitting there was still no action on her previous such requests. On Aug. 10, President Biden's senior domestic policy advisor Tom Perez, who is a Buffalo native and former Obama labor secretary, actually met in New York with Mayor Eric Adams.
So far that has led to the appointment of a Homeland Security Department liaison. There was also a bit over $100 million previously provided through Congress and the White House.
But as she discussed when stopping in Tonawanda on Tuesday, and with that let them work refrain, the state Labor Department will now use a new job match program for migrants. That is with the realization that under current federal rules they must be six months in country before they can get work permits.
State Labor Department commissioner Rebecca Reardon said there will first be a statewide survey of potential employers, especially in the agriculture, retail, hospitality, and health care fields.
"We are specifically reaching out to businesses saying are you interested in hiring asylum seekers, We want to be able to have matches made before the work authorization comes in so that when that paper arrives the minute they get their authorization we can begin to make those introductions, so that employers can pull the lever and employ those people as quickly as possible," Reardon said.
Hochul previously floated the idea of the agriculture sector looking to hire asylum seekers. But some farmers told 2 On Your Side they preferred to use the more secure federal H-2A visa program to hire their workers.
And even though New York City mayor Eric Adams sought a state executive order to force all state counties to accept migrants, Hochul emphasized that "we cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants. Nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will."