GOSHEN – State Supreme Court Judge Sandra Sciortino on Tuesday granted Orange County’s application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) which has stopped New York City Mayor Eric Adams for the time being from sending asylum seekers to the county.
“New York City should not be establishing a homeless shelter outside of its borders in Orange County,” County Executive Steven Neuhaus said. “The city is a self-proclaimed sanctuary city; Orange County is not. We should not have to bear the burden of the immigration crisis that the federal government and Mayor Adams created, and I will continue to fight for Orange County’s residents in regard to this important manner.”
As modified by the court, the TRO allows the 186 asylum seekers at the Crossroads Hotel and Ramada by Wyndham in the Town of Newburgh to remain. However, it prohibits the City of New York from sending any additional asylum seekers to Orange County, pending further submissions from the parties and future determinations by the court.
The county learned after the court hearing that New York City was anticipating sending seven busloads of new migrants/asylum seekers to Orange County today (Tuesday). Because of the court order, that will not happen. The parties will be back before the Court on June 21st.
According to Orange County Attorney Richard Golden, if any of the 186 asylum seekers leave the two hotels in the Town of Newburgh, New York City is not allowed to send individuals to replace them. Neuhaus filed two lawsuits on behalf of the county last Friday to stop the City of New York from illegally sending its homeless migrants and/or asylum seekers to the county.
The first lawsuit is against both the Crossroads Hotel and Ramada by Wyndham, both located in the Town of Newburgh. This lawsuit is to stop these hotels from accepting New York City’s homeless migrants and/or asylum seekers in violation of the prior Order and Declaration of Emergency issued by Neuhaus.
The second lawsuit against New York City and Mayor Adams is to stop the city from establishing unlicensed and unregulated homeless shelters in Orange County for these migrants and/or asylum seekers. Under state law, the city is prohibited from setting up homeless shelters outside of the five boroughs in the manner it did last week.
