By Natalia Rueda 
New York City is facing a crisis of unprecedented magnitude: homelessness has hit a record level, with more than 100,000 people living in shelters across the city. A staggering majority of the homeless population has been found to be composed of immigrants arriving from the southern border of the United States. This influx has caused a strain on New York City’s homeless services and resources.
In a press conference, New York City Council press secretary Fabian Levy acknowledged that the city had reached a “tipping point” and called for the government to provide more support. He argued that in the current situation there are “more asylum seekers being served than New Yorkers who have been homeless for a long time.”
With the jump in homelessness numbers, Democratic mayor Eric Adams has pledged to spend more than $1 billion to house migrants. This spending is estimated to rise to a total of $4.4 billion by 2024. Mayor Adams has also urged the federal government to provide support and create a strategy to transfer migrants to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Izcol reported that the city has opened nearly 170 emergency points to provide temporary shelter for the immigrants. In an effort to manage the influx of people, the city has sent immigrants to hotels in the northern part of the state, while some Protestant and Muslim churches are offering up to a thousand beds in their temples each night.
Many of the witnesses have spoken of the difficult struggle for the 100,000 homeless people, both directly affected by the immigration crisis and those from other backgrounds. Facing a humanitarian crisis as never before seen, it is up to the public and government to ensure the welfare of those most vulnerable to exploitation and destitution.