Newsman: A young mother seeking asylum in the United States died by suicide in a New York City homeless shelter Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday. But Mayor said, he was legally barred from disclosing any other details.
Mayor Eric Adams referred to her as a “young woman” in a statement on Monday,
“The thousands of asylum seekers we have seen arrive in our city came to this country seeking a better life. Sadly though, yesterday, an asylum seeker in one of our facilities took her own life,” Adams said in the statement.
“Our hearts break for this young woman and any loved ones she may have, and we, as a city mourn her. This tragedy is a reminder that we have an obligation to do everything in our power to help those in need” statement said.
“We didn’t fail in the city. This city is helping people,” he added.
. A Health Department report found 12 shelter residents died by in fiscal year 2021, just one of which occurred in the facility itself.
Addressing the woman’s death at an unrelated press conference Monday morning, Adams blamed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’ve been sending asylum seekers to Washington, D.C., New York, Massachusetts.
“This wasn’t a failure,” he told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn when asked if the death represents a failure by the city.
“The woman was traumatized by this whole experience,” he said. “The failure was the governors that sent people on multi-day bus rides without proper food, without medical care, without basic necessities, telling them they had to be treated in this inhumane way,” Adam’s said.
Mayor Adams has said the city’s shelter system is at its breaking point, with at least 11,000 migrants arriving since the summer. The mayor of El Paso has also begun sending buses of migrants to New York. Adams said that unlike Abbott, who has refused to coordinate with the city on the arrival of buses, the El Paso mayor is keeping City Hall informed.
“He was willing to sit down and share what his concerns are and what our concerns are and figure out a humane way to coordinate,” Adams said.
The city estimates more than 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since May, 8,500 of whom are in the city’s shelter system, Adams said at the Monday press conference. More than 11,000 migrants, mostly from Central and South America, have entered city homeless shelters since May, including 2,500 on buses chartered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams chided “politicians” for using asylum seekers to advance their political agenda.
” This death is tragic. A young woman who came to this country seeking support has become a casualty of cruelty and political schemes by leaders placing a higher value on fundraising tactics than families in need,” Williams said in a statement. “We need to expand systems of support in NYC for people seeking asylum, and more than that, we need politicians to stop treating people as pawns– with dangerous, now deadly, consequences.”
In response, the city opened up 23 emergency shelters to begin to accommodate them. Last week, Adams suggested he might house the incoming asylum seekers on cruise ships. He declined to elaborate on that plan on Monday.
Attorneys for homeless New Yorkers have flagged repeated violations of the city’s right to shelter law, that requires the city provide a shelter bed to anyone who seeks one. The mayor last week said the city’s right to shelter mandate “must be reassessed,” but offered no details on what that may entail.
Mayor Adams says New York City will continue to be a sanctuary city, but he wants migrants to come willingly and in a humane manner.
“We want to continue what we’ve always done, and that is ensure that people who came to this city were treated in a humane fashion,” Adams said. “We’re not seeing that now. This humanitarian crisis was created by human hands, and I believe it was a political ploy.”
Housing asylum seekers on cruise ships is being explored, with the administration speaking with Norwegian Cruise Line about possibly using one of their ships.
The administration said no decisions have been made.
“There are no details to share at this time,” a spokesperson said. “We said last week that we need to reassess the whole situation and are discussing different ideas to see if they work are part of that. If and when there are decisions made, we will make sure to keep you posted.”
