Biden and Gov. Hochul discuss the migrant crisis in NYC without Mayor Adams

As New York continues to care for thousands of migrants who traveled north after crossing the southern U.S. border, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she spoke with President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening in New York City during a meeting she described as brief, but productive.

“It was an opportunity for me to continue to talk about ways that I believe the federal government can help New York state with this humanitarian crisis,” Hochul said after holding a bill signing ceremony for a series of voting rights laws in Manhattan on Wednesday.

While she did not offer specific details about any commitments made by the president, Hochul emphasized that she is continuing to press for expedited federal work authorization. She also is seeking an extension of temporary protected status for Venezuelans that is already available for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Currently, only Venezuelans who arrived prior to March 2021 are eligible for the program.

The Democratic governor said the pair did not discuss a state or local work permit program, which she and other officials have recently floated as a way to circumvent federal work authorization.

“That's one option I'm pursuing, but I'm giving the federal government a little more time just to see whether or not they can take some steps that would alleviate the need for that,” she said.

For months, New York state and city leaders have called on the federal government to do more to support efforts to shelter migrants, reaching a fever pitch in recent weeks as Mayor Eric Adams and the Biden administration point fingers at each other over management of the situation.

About 60,000 migrants remain in New York City’s care, according to Adams, who says the crisis is costing the city billions and contributing to budget cuts.

Last week, the Biden administration finalized a lease agreement with New York City to house up to 2,000 migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, the former military airfield in southeast Brooklyn. Hochul’s administration agreed to pick up the costs associated with the temporary shelter.

Hochul’s meeting with Biden came as the president is in town for the United Nations General Assembly. Both officials spoke at a reception on Tuesday night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Biden gave a nod to Hochul during his remarks, according to White House pool reports.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment about the meeting.

Notably absent from the conversation was Adams, whose comments about the lack of action from the federal government have seemed to sour relations with the Biden administration. Still the governor sought to strike a diplomatic tone when asked about the mayor’s absence from her meeting with Biden.

“I always welcome the president when he comes, when he is available,” said Hochul, who noted that Biden’s team sought her out for the brief discussion, even though much of his time was focused on meeting with other world leaders visiting New York City for the U.N. General Assembly.

While Adams and Biden appear at odds, Hochul said she’s in contact with the mayor regularly about how to manage the migrant situation.

“We just spoke a day or two ago about this. We have been working very closely together,” she added. But she indicated her conversation with the president was a “last-minute opportunity.”

“What I can say at this time is I felt that he is listening to us. He has heard us. He has heard me loud and clear on what is needed,” Hochul said.

A spokesperson for City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Adams was asked about the cold shoulder from the president on Fox 5 on Wednesday morning, he suggested it was his speaking style that had upset the White House.

"There's an authentic communication style that I have and sometimes that offends people," he said. "But I'm not going to be dishonest to New Yorkers and find a word in a thesaurus to make it sound politically correct. We're in trouble."

When pressed for more details about the meeting, the governor also took a swipe at the state’s nine Republican congressmembers, whom she urged to demand meaningful action from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“Stop talking about shutting down the government and do your jobs,” said Hochul. “The president put forth a meaningful change in our immigration laws that would help us at the border, which is where the problem arises from: the border."

With Washington deadlocked on immigration policy, some advocates and officials have turned their attention to Albany, urging Hochul and state lawmakers to put more state resources toward the migrant housing crisis.

Hochul has countered by saying New York has already committed to spending $1.7 billion on the effort to shelter migrants and provide them with legal services. That includes staffing several large-scale shelters — including those on Randall’s Island and the Creedmoor psychiatric facility in Queens — with members of the National Guard.

Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting.