Officials cordoned off a Manhattan sidewalk to accommodate dozens of mostly Venezuelan migrants outside the Roosevelt Hotel. The video shows more than 50 migrants sleeping on cardboard outside the hotel after standing in line hoping to receive more permanent shelter.
Saul Acevedo, a legal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, shot the video late last week and offered commentary about the situation the migrants face on the streets of New York City.
The situation continued over the weekend as city officials scrambled to accommodate the migrants seeking shelter at the overcrowded hotel. According to a CBS news report, the situation became tense when frustrated migrants attempted to push their way into the hotel.
Hotel staff and officers from the New York Police Department held the frustrated migrants back. The City parked buses along the curb over the weekend, allowing some of the migrants some respite from the weather.
Breitbart Texas spoke to Saul about the scene he witnessed on the sidewalk surrounding the hotel. He says he has lived in the United States for more than twenty years. Saul narrates the video and believes the situation facing the migrants arriving in the city is terrible.
Saul expressed his hopes the government finds a solution to the migrant problems facing the city but is skeptical that either political party will do something meaningful to remedy the situation.
The video shows a stretch of the sidewalk outside the Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, where the mostly adult male migrants use discarded cardboard as bedding. Saul told Breitbart it appears that more and more migrants are arriving daily. He initially posted his videos of the migrants on his Instagram account and said he is surprised they had garnered so much attention.
Some of the migrants housed by the city in area hotels are pleased with the accommodations. As reported by Breitbart Texas, one Venezuelan migrant says the hotel he stays at in the Bronx is clean and provides round-the-clock security by Army National Guard soldiers.
Danny, who provided Breitbart Texas with video of his accommodations, described the benefits provided by the city and federal government, including free health care that covers prescription coverage, medical, dental, and vision care.
The costs of providing shelter and care to the city taxpayers for more than 54,000 migrants are taking its toll on the sanctuary city. According to Mayor Eric Adams, things may be about to change. Adams has now initiated a campaign to deliver fliers along the southwest border asking migrants not to come to New York and to consider other destinations instead.
In a recent press conference, Adams announced he would limit temporary shelter for adult migrants to 60 days to accommodate more family unit migrants. Adams told reporters:
New York City has done more than any other level of government to address this national crisis, providing shelter, food, services, and much more to more than 90,000 asylum seekers since last spring. With more than 54,800 asylum seekers still currently in our care, this effort will intensify adult asylum seekers’ casework services over the next two months to help them take the next step on their journey and ensure we have a bed to place children and families at night.
Adams renewed his plea to the state and federal government requesting more funding to accommodate the arriving migrants.
“For more than a year now, New York City has responded to this crisis alone; we need our state and federal partners to step up,” Adams emphasized.
A request for information regarding the migrant housing situation at the Roosevelt Hotel from Mayor Adam’s press office remains unanswered as of press time.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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