A task force has been formed to address the flood of unaccompanied migrant minors streaming into New York. This new coordinated effort was announced on Wednesday during a meeting hosted by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), where officials discussed a new strategy for handling the children, involving a partnership with local church charities, health care organizations, and legal groups.
According to the NYIC, close to 3,300 migrant children have already arrived in New York State since January 2014, with another 7,000 minors expected to reach the state in the coming months. Many children are emigrating from Central America, and are here to join members of their extended families.
"The NYIC’s member agencies have already seen large numbers of migrant children—many of whom have legitimate claims to legal remedies such as asylum and refugee status—in upstate, Long Island, and New York City," said executive director Steven Choi during the briefing. "We aim to work with our partners, including City and State agencies, legal service providers, social service agencies and others to ensure that we can respond to these children's needs with quality shelter and legal, social, educational, and psychological support.”
The strategy put forth by NYIC officials involves city, church, and private agencies working side by side. The collective goal is to assist the children with education and housing, as well as legal and medical care.
Catholic Charities, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, The Children's Health Fund and Montefiore Health System, and the International Network of Public Schools will all be part of the merger.
Nisha Agarwal, commissioner of The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, was present at the Wednesday meeting and commented on New York City's response to the children on a larger level.
“The Administration is committed to do everything we can to embrace Central American migrant children who are placed in New York City," Agarwal said. "With an influx of these minors entering our area, we have formed a task force to coordinate an interagency response to the developing situation."
The idea of mixing New York's private and public sectors has been supported by other local officials as well. This morning State Senator Adriano Espaillat held a press conference proposing that city organizations partner with the Catholic church to offer provisions.
According to the New York Observer, Espaillat suggested that New York could accommodate the estimated 10,000 children, saying, "The city has a huge heart, and we have public and private resources. The Catholic Church and the religious community, which has shown a keen interest in these children, has a part to play. The private sector also has a part to play."
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has also weighed in on the matter, stating that providing shelters to house the migrant children would be the "humane" thing to do.
“These children are facing horrific situations at home which have left them and their families to make some really difficult decisions, and I think that we have a responsibility to respond to a humanitarian crisis that we have before us,” Mark-Viverito said.
The speaker also applauded city officials like Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner, who held meetings this week announcing her support for housing the unaccompanied minors. Miner even penned a letter to President Obama, asking officials to establish a shelter in an existing local building. This move was met with mixed reviews from constituants, but praise from Mark-Viverito.
“It’s good to hear that mayors like the mayor of Syracuse have said that Syracuse would have an open door and be helpful,” Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) said. “I think that we should do the same thing. We should be humane.”
