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NYC officials call on Biden for more help with asylum seekers

The Biden administration's decision to allow hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans temporary work permits was welcomed by Mayor Eric Adams.
NYC officials call on Biden for more help with asylum seekers
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The Jurado family left Ecuador after they received death threats. Evelyn Jurado says her small business was threatened by criminals.

SCRIPPS NEWS' AXEL TURCIOS: Why did you leave Ecuador?

EVELYN JURADO: Because there is a lot of crime, a lot of mafias and it got very dangerous. The extortion is that they go to the businesses, they ask for a lot of money and if we cannot pay them that money, they start killing our families, they kidnap our children or our families.

This family is just an example of the massive influx of asylum seekers that continue to arrive in New York City.

"There's a real spike at the border and there's a clear mental pathway that many people believe the answer to this crisis is New York City. It's not sustainable, it's not sustainable," said NYC Mayor Eric Adams. 

Friday morning, at least 40 new asylum seekers arrived at New York's Roosevelt hotel, one of the city's overwhelmed shelters for newly arrived migrants.

Adams said the Biden administration's temporary protected status expansion for nearly half a million Venezuelan asylum seekers is not enough, because only a quarter of the migrants currently in the city's care will benefit.

According to figures from Syracuse University's TRAC immigration database, just in 2023, more than 95,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City. Meanwhile, Evelyn Jurado's 9-year-old daughter Dana says she is relieved she and her family have finally reached New York City. 

SEE MORE: Over 140,000 migrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border this month


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