Representative Espaillat Leads Appropriations Request to Support Asylum Seekers and Families Facing Homelessness.
NEW YORK, NY – Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) sent a letter to Senate and House Appropriations Committee leadership urging the inclusion of $500 million to support the Emergency Food and Shelter Traditional and Humanitarian Program. The requested funds would provide shelter, food and supportive services to individuals and families experiencing hunger or homelessness, and allow humanitarian assistance to migrant families and individuals encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“We are experiencing a growing unhoused population in communities around the nation, which is being compounded by inflation and the ongoing pandemic,” wrote Rep. Espaillat. “Without federal support, thousands of individuals and families are at risk of losing access to shelters, food, basic health, and other essential support services.
“The demand for safe and secure shelters in our state has also experienced an influx of asylum seekers arriving from Latin America as State officials in Texas and Arizona are sending buses of individuals to New York,” he continued.
“New York City is a safe haven city and will continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms,” Espaillat concluded.
New York in particular, is experiencing an uptick in individuals seeking sheltering services. According to the New York City Shelter census for July, emergency shelters housed 49,340 individuals, with over 16,000 being children.
New York City has continued to help asylum seekers but requires increased funding for programs that have effectively aided those exercising their legal right to seek asylum in the United States. New York City is proud to meet its moral obligation in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, but recent upticks including approximately 4,000 asylum seekers – the majority in families with children means that more funding is necessary with thousands more expected to arrive in the coming months.
Full copy of the letter to Appropriation Committee leadership is available here.
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
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