NYC urges migrants at the border to go elsewhere claiming high rent, cost of living

New York City is distributing leaflets along the US-Mexico border with the aim of dissuading migrants from traveling to the five boroughs.

The flyers warn migrants that housing in the city is too pricey and that “there is no guarantee of shelter and services to new arrivals.”

“Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.” the bright yellow leaflet says. It features a map of the U.S., with arrows extending from Texas into Vermont, North Carolina, Wisconsin, South Dakota and other ostensibly cheaper locales.

“We have teams down at the border who are going to assist us in the distribution of flyers,” Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing Wednesday.

Adams’ spokesperson Kate Smart said the mayor was referring to nonprofit groups that work with recently arrived immigrants along the U.S. Southern Border.

The message, written in English and Spanish, will also be posted on “websites that are promoting New York City,” Adams added.

Adams described the flyers as part of a larger plan to discourage travel to New York City and eject migrants from city-run emergency shelters after two months. The policy was first reported by Gothamist.

He said the leaflet campaign aims “to honestly communicate our city’s situation to those thinking of coming in.”

Advocates were divided on the plan with some calling it “fear mongering” and others saying it “made sense”.

“In order to reduce the strain on the system it makes sense to make sure that people are going to all the places that they need to go,” said Joshua Goldfein, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society. “The state and the federal government have an obligation to manage the flow of people crossing the southern border. That's not New York City's job.”

Legal Aid and Coalition For The Homeless are currently trying to broker a deal to keep the Adams administration from kicking out adult migrants after 60 days.

David Griffen, executive director for Coalition For The Homeless said Adams’ flyers won’t work.

“Some yellow flyers reminding people in Texas that rents in New York are high is not a substitute for a federal immigration policy that actually helps people to come in and get resettled,” Griffen said.

Immigration advocates said the plan is a nonstarter.

“This is out of character what the city should be presenting,” said Theodore Moore, vice president of policy at the New York Immigration Coalition. “The view that there is any type of scarcity in New York City which we know is not true”

According to the most recent city estimates, over 54,000 recently arrived migrants are now staying in city-run shelters or emergency housing. More than 100,000 people are spending each night in city shelters — the result of record-high rents and a lack of affordable housing.

Adams’ plan drew rebukes from some social media users who said the flyers contrasted the message inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

“Is this some kind of satire???” tweeted former Queens Congressional candidate Rana Abdelhamid.

Progressive political strategist Evan Roth Smith tweeted: “From ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ to ‘Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.’ Bleak.”

Gothamist reporter David Brand contributed to this story.