Why is NYC shutting down its Randall's Island migrant shelter after just 1 month?

Beds in Randall's Island migrant shelter
(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago / Staff/ Getty Images)

New York City officials plan to shutter the Randall's Island tent shelter built to mitigate a surprise influx of over 23,000 relocated migrants after recent changes to the Biden administration's immigration policies curtailed the overall number of incoming arrivals, The New York Times reports.

Many of the migrants were Venezuelans that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had bused to New York in protest of President Biden's border policies. In October, New York City Mayor Eric Adams estimated the city would spend up to $1 billion to lessen the strain the unprecedented arrivals had put on its shelter system.

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

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.