NY’s Migrant Issues Not Good News for Biden

President Joe Biden’s overall approval rate continues to drop – down to about 40% on average, according to the latest polls tracked by RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight. His handling of the illegal migrant crisis certainly isn’t helping, either, especially in New York, where almost two-thirds of those asked in a new survey blame Biden for the problem.

Migrant Crisis a Huge Concern for New Yorkers

A Siena College poll released on Oct. 24 found that 64% of New Yorkers are not happy with how Biden is addressing the illegals swarming into the state. This is especially true for New York City, where more than 100,000 immigrants sought shelter just this year alone. Mayor Eric Adams warned the migrant situation will “destroy New York City,” and Gov. Kathy Hochul said the Empire State is at capacity and “[w]e have to let people know that if you’re thinking of coming to New York, we are truly out of space.”

Is it any wonder people are unhappy with the way the government is handling the flood of undocumented into their neighborhoods. Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said:

"While other issues in Washington and abroad have largely driven the news cycle over the last few weeks, the influx of migrants to New York remains top of mind for voters, with 84% saying it’s a serious – 57% very serious – problem for the state. Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem."

NYC’s Response

Mayor Adams said Biden has failed New Yorkers by not helping with the migrant crisis. He estimated the city would spend about $5 billion this fiscal year and more than $12 billion over the next three years to house and feed immigrants.

New York City has done what it could to find shelter for the undocumented, including housing them in former hotels, tents, office buildings, and even police precincts. At one point, Adams considered putting migrants on cruise ships. Efforts to transport aliens to other counties have been met with severe disapproval from local lawmakers, and more than 65,400 were staying in homeless shelters as of October.

The city’s population for 2023 is nearly 19 million, and 36% of those are foreign-born nationals. As of August, there were 86,510 homeless people, which includes 29,721 children, and more than 116,000 migrants as of September.

Although New York remains a true blue state with 49% of registered voters Democrats and 23% Republicans, Greenberg noted that the poll found 52% of Democrats said they wanted a different presidential nominee for the 2024 election, adding:

"And also true is that right now, Biden has his worst-ever New York favorability and job approval ratings. The good news for Biden is the election is more than a year away. The bad news is there’s more bad news."