New York to Open Tent Camp for Migrants on Randalls Island
As the Trump administration takes steps to further restrict immigration, Mayor Bill de Blasio and state officials are working together to create a safe haven for asylum seekers at the Randalls Island tent camp.
Share
New York to Open Tent Camp for Migrants on Randalls Island
share
The city has been working with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeless Services since June to prepare the site of the tent camp for about 100 unaccompanied children who are fleeing violence and seeking protection from federal authorities.
The move comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Donald Trump agreed to establish a refugee camp on an island on the South Shore of Long Island. The island has no police and is considered a crime-ridden, dangerous place.
“It’s not a refugee camp, but it’s a place where migrants can turn themselves in, and go through the immigration process, or where they can find a place to stay while in the process of applying for asylum,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to expand the tent camp to two additional sites off a county road near the airport. The new sites are expected to open next year at a cost of nearly $3 million, according to Department of Homeland Security Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello.
The tents are going to be outfitted with showers, laundry and kitchen space and contain beds, sleeping bags, and other supplies. The plan is to house 50 to 100 children, who will be paired with a sponsor from the United States, and monitored by ICE for the first two years.
The city and state government officials have been working together on the project together in recent weeks.
The children will be housed in the same two sites as before for a year before moving on to other camps.
They will be housed in tents and not in large hotels like the ones that have been used