Thread: As Title 42 ends, Oneida County closes shelter doors: 'We are not prepared for this'

As Title 42 ends, Oneida County closes shelter doors: 'We are not prepared for this'




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Edward Harris, Observer-Dispatch
Wed, May 10, 2023 at 3:30 PM EDT




Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. said Wednesday he will issue an emergency order barring hotels and shelters from accepting immigrants living in the country illegally, citing an escalating migrant crisis in New York City.

The move comes a day after Picente and other upstate county leaders had a virtual meeting with a representative of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office concerning the surge of people they're unable to adequately house when the use of Title 42 — a Trump-era policy that allowed for quick expulsion of immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic — ends Thursday.

Picente said he is not aware of any current plans to bus people to Oneida County but is looking to get ahead of it proactively.

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. addressed the critical issues surrounding Title 42 and New York StateÕs response at the Oneida County Office Building in Utica, NY on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Like New York City, Picente said, Oneida County does not have the necessary resources needed to handle an influx of immigrants.

“We are open to anyone, but we have to be prepared,” Picente said, noting the high number of immigrants that call Oneida County home. “It’s not fair it has been given to us.”

Oneida County Sheriff: 'We are not prepared for this'

Picente referenced a "vague" call he said county leaders had with Hochul’s office on Tuesday, criticizing the governor for not attending and likening the communication to that of a COVID briefing that left counties ill-informed.

Joined by Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol during the announcement Wednesday, Picente said New York City has 2,500 immigrants brought in daily.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said the city cannot adequately accommodate the influx. Picente said he plans to talk to Adams on the issue in the near future.

Oneida County Sheriff Robert M. Maciol, alongside Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr., addressed the critical issues surrounding Title 42 and New York StateÕs response at the Oneida County Office Building in Utica, NY on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

“We are not prepared for this,” Maciol said. “I’m very concerned. We are open to anyone, but we have to be prepared.”

Picente said when Oneida County opened the County Office Building to the homeless during a cold snap this past winter so they could stay warm, they were forced to do so because there was no space available at the county’s shelters.

This was one of the main points Picente used to further the notion the county could not handle an influx of immigrants, and called the matter a national and state issue that had been pushed upon counties.

“Everyone knew about this,” Picente said. “They’ve known about it for a long time.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Facing Title 42 expiration, Oneida County limits shelter access


https://www.yahoo.com/news/title-42-...182136780.html

No heads on beds, put butts on buses back home!

This is not a vacation at our expense for foreign citizens to flood our border.

We are not their free travel agent. No hotel, no transportation, no food, no clothes, no school, no healthcare!

We cannot go to Canada and demand hotels, transportation, food, healthcare and school.

Send them back over the border! Mexico let them in and they can damn well keep them all.

We owe these people nothing!

Let their Embassy pay for their flights back home.