New York and other U.S. cities struggle with high costs of migrant arrivals. The likely record number of asylum seekers and other migrants entering the United States after being apprehended at the southern border is placing an unprecedented financial strain on states and cities nationwide, even as local governments continue to recover from the economic toll resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The absence of federal support to significantly defray state and local costs, long waits for migrants to work legally, and large numbers arriving without connections in the country have combined to create an inordinate burden for several major receiving cities, which have spent billions to meet immediate needs. The situation has aggravated already tight housing markets and prompted a blame game pitting city, state, and federal leaders against each other. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been most vocal about his frustration with the federal government, sparking tensions with the White House with recent remarks that a migrant influx he estimates will cost New Yorkers $12 billion by mid-2025 “will destroy” the city. While cities have historically absorbed and integrated new migrants with success, the challenges brought by the new border arrivals are due not only to the high numbers but also the diversity of nationalities, the large share arriving as families, and the overwhelming number who seek asylum. New arrivals are entitled to almost no federal public benefits and those lacking a family or social connection in the United States are having difficulty finding a foothold in U.S. communities. Unlike in the past, when migrants arriving without authorization tended to avoid federal authorities, new border entrants have already been processed by the government, so may be more likely to ask for government assistance. The challenge is most severe in New York City, which has a unique legal obligation to provide shelter to anyone who needs it. The city has struggled to house migrants while also handling the regular challenges of unhoused New Yorkers, and has turned to hotels, a cruise ship terminal, a former police academy building, and other locations. New York and other cities are also bearing the burden of paying for medical care, schooling, food, and other services. Although the full fiscal impacts of providing services to the newcomers are unknown, mayors and governors nationwide have cited high costs..........read on- much more and REPORT    https://reliefweb.int/report/united-states-america/new-york-and-other-us-cities-struggle-high-costs-migrant-arrivals