Democrats’ Failures Expose NYC’s Migrant Chaos, Leaving Voters Vulnerable

I distinctly remember the moment I realized that Donald Trump had a shot at winning the election on Tuesday: July 26, 2023, when I witnessed a line of people forming outside Midtown’s Roosevelt Hotel.

In the midst of sweltering heat, a crowd of predominantly young Hispanic and African men, with some Europeans, gathered for six days as New York City’s government stood idly by.

These lasting images shattered President Biden’s, and later Kamala Harris’, chances of retaining the White House.

This spectacle dispelled the notion held by many voters that progressive Democrats might be extreme, but those labeled as moderate, like Biden and New York’s governor and mayor, can effectively set and execute sensible policies.

How did these images come to dominate the national news?

First, Biden wanted to showcase how harsh and heartless his predecessor had been.

On his very first day in office, Biden suspended a crucial Donald Trump policy that had prevented the southern border from being overwhelmed by “asylum seekers,” many with no valid asylum claim – the policy that required them to “remain in Mexico” until their cases were heard.

You may dislike Trump, but two facts remain: The United States cannot accommodate an unlimited number of arrivals who enter the border in a disorderly manner, and “remain in Mexico” was preventing this from happening.

Biden’s reversal sent a clear message: America was open to everyone.

As even The Washington Post acknowledged, “Illegal border crossings soared to record levels under President Biden, averaging 2 million per year from 2021 to 2023,” compared to about 800,000 in 2019.

Biden “paroled” millions of border crossers into the country, 1.3 million in 2023, easily five times the level during Trump’s administration. Many more individuals have evaded detection by border officers and remain uncounted.

Then, Mayor Adams prioritized bravado over substance.

In April 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, confronted with the logistical nightmare of managing hundreds of thousands of unvetted individuals with no federal assistance, began regularly busing migrants to Washington, DC.

Although this had no direct connection to New York, Adams, seemingly seeking attention, inexplicably called Abbott a “coward” in response.

“Our country is the home of the free, land of the brave,” Adams remarked. “We do not… turn away people seeking help.”

This statement was an open invitation — prompting Abbott to begin sending buses to New York City.

Adams could have quickly realized that finding shelter for tens of thousands of asylum seekers was untenable. He could have petitioned the courts and the state to limit the right-to-shelter rules that required the city to accommodate all arrivals.

Instead, Adams hurriedly opened numerous hotels and tent cities — a total of 212 sites, housing 62,000 people.

Not until May 2023 did Adams even attempt to impose limits on the right to shelter, instituting 30- and 60-day caps.

Lastly, Governor Hochul remained passive, merely throwing money at the issue.

Hochul had the authority to intervene early and restrict the right to shelter, a state matter.

Instead, she allowed Adams to handle the situation, allocating at least $2.6 billion in state taxpayer funds to do so.

In July 2023, the chaos culminated with scenes at the Roosevelt Hotel, which City Hall had repurposed as a shelter.

The fact that Adams permitted migrants to wait outside this prominent property in Midtown, oblivious to the situation, for days on end demonstrated sheer incompetence.

The nation’s voters were watching, however.

What did they witness?

Biden, Hochul, and Adams were not elected as “defund ICE” progressives but as moderates (and Harris has framed herself similarly in this race).

The lack of financial or operational resources was not the issue for the federal, state, and local governments.

The problem is simply the United States’ inability to support and accommodate the entire world.

If New York, the wealthiest city in the nation, struggled with this influx of newcomers, how could other cities and even small towns handle it?

National Democrats were disinterested in the matter.

The Biden-Harris administration did not even begin to address the migrant flow until this year, and only because top national Democrats finally realized, two years too late, that the border crisis could cost them the White House.

With 61% of voters considering immigration a critical issue this week, we will discover if it indeed affected the election.

If so, this election was effectively determined two summers ago in the heart of Manhattan.

Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.