New York City opens first tent shelter site for displaced migrants

New York City is set to open the first of a series of temporary tent shelter sites on Wednesday to house the influx of thousands of Central and South American migrants, Bloomberg reports.
Located on Randall's Island, between the Bronx and Queens, the 6.4-acre temporary relief center will provide housing, food, water, and COVID tests for up to 500 single adults seeking shelter in New York. After being housed in temporary hotel rooms since their arrival, the city will move the migrants into the large white tents, which hold 1,000 cots, per Bloomberg.
Mayor Eric Adams (D) has been vocal about the city's resources being spread thin by the unexpected influx of migrants in recent months. Over 18,000 asylum seekers have recently arrived in New York City, many of them coming on buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Abbott has sent busloads of asylum seekers to northern sanctuary cities to protest Biden's immigration policies.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Adams recently declared a state of emergency as the city's homeless shelters struggled to accommodate the crowd of displaced migrants. Adams has stated that the city is set to spend over $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year to accommodate the migrants being shipped from border states. After flooding damaged the initial Orchard Beach site, the tents had to be relocated from their original spot in the Bronx. At one point, Adams considered using cruise ships as a temporary solution.
City officials clarified that the tents are meant to be a short-term entry point for migrants, and will house them for 24 to 96 hours. The city is also accommodating 200 families at the Row Hotel in Manhattan, Bloomberg reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
How carbon credits could help and hurt the climate
The explainer The credits could be allowing polluters to continue polluting
-
5 tips for building a healthy skincare routine for tweens and teens
The Week Recommends Social media is pushing overly elaborate routines for young skin
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Are masked ICE agents America's new secret police?
Today's Big Question Critics say masks undermine trust in law enforcement
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible