Mayor Eric Adams' administration acknowledged Tuesday that arrests in New York City do not deter migrants from going to taxpayer-funded shelters.
“We’re not saying (you) can’t come back to the shelter because you’ve been arrested,” Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom said during Adams’ weekly off-topic press conference at City Hall.
This revelation came after a Post report found that Immigrants have flooded the criminal justice systemOne Manhattan policeman estimated that “about 75%” of those arrested in Midtown are immigrants, most of them for robberies, assaults, domestic incidents and selling counterfeit goods.
“I’m sure there have been a lot of arrests on the part of the different groups that have come here, especially the groups that haven’t been able to work,” Williams-Isom said.
He also confirmed that the city is not tracking arrests of immigrants. The NYPD is forbidden from asking suspects about their immigration status.
Asked about the large number of arrests of migrants reported by police sources, Camille Joseph Verlaque, Adams' chief of staff, said that although suspects could return to the city's shelters, they would be denied housing if they violated the code of conduct.
But according to a review of the code of conduct by The Post, the code is limited to incidents inside the shelters, and alleged illegal activity elsewhere has no bearing on eligibility for housing in the city.
The mayor's team said City Hall is focused on helping refugees get on their feet, in order to prevent new arrivals from turning to crime.
“We want to connect people to their community-based organizations so we can connect them to work, get them out of shelters,” Williams-Isom said.
“We’re really proud that over 150,000 people have stepped out of the shelter so far.”
