Shuttered NYC migrant shelter highlights Trump’s successful immigration clampdown: NY lawmaker

President Donald Trump’s quick work to crack down on illegal immigration has already paid off in the nation’s largest city, according to a New York State lawmaker.

“This is a victory for taxpayers and a disaster for the progressives that have set up policies that have hurt New Yorkers,” Republican New York Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz told Fox News Digital in reaction to New York Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement on Monday that the Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Manhattan will be shutting down in the next few months.

The hotel, which was converted into a migrant shelter with about 1,000 rooms, has processed over 173,000 migrants since May 2023, a response to the wave of migrants that began coming to the city in 2022 in search of asylum.

The Roosevelt Hotel’s shelter, along with the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center located on the site, will now be closed by June, a source told the New York Post.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS NYC’S ROOSEVELT HOTEL MIGRANT SHELTER WILL SOON CLOSE

“While we’re not done caring for those who come into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on an unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said in a statement.

Adams also touted how his administration “skillfully managed the crisis,” in part thanks to “sound policy decisions” and the ability to continue helping “asylum seekers take the next steps in their journeys as they envision an even brighter future.”

However, Blumencranz believes much of the credit should go to Trump, whose executive actions on immigration have stemmed the flow entering the country and New York City.

“We’re not seeing the same volume of numbers as we saw during the Biden administration,” Blumencranz said.

Blumencranz believes that even Democrats were caught off guard by the “sheer volume” of migrants entering the country as a result of the policies of the Biden administration, but the strain of the pressure on cities like New York has begun to alleviate with the new administration.

“We’re finally seeing some sort of rescue to that problem,” Blumencranz said.

NYC SUES AFTER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CLAWS BACK $80 MILLION MIGRANT HOUSING GRANT 

Adams highlighted as much in his statement, noting that “there are currently fewer than 45,000 migrants in the city’s care, down from a high of 69,000 in January of 2024 and out of the more than 232,000 that have arrived in New York City seeking city services since the spring of 2022.”

Blumencranz now believes it is time for judicial reforms aimed at removing criminals who have entered the country and New York City over the last few years.

“What we need to see now is a system in place that reforms the judicial process, that we can make sure that those 60,000 some odd individuals who have come here and committed crimes are removed,” he said. “That needs to be step one.”

Nevertheless, Blumencranz viewed the closure of the Roosevelt shelter as a positive start, representing a “realignment” of thinking among government leaders on how to better manage the crisis.

Still, there is more work to be done to reassure New Yorkers who have seen the handling of the crisis stretch tax dollars thin and threaten government services.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“Our state budget has ballooned to $250 billion, the largest in state history and one of the largest in the United States of America, more than most countries,” Blumencranz said.

“What we’re seeing is a continuation of services being cut because we’re dealing with prices that are created through bad policies from the state legislature and from City Hall. It’s time we start to put our money where our mouth is, fully fund programs that matter to taxpayers, and stop playing this game where compassionate services should matter more than making sure your kids get a world class education when you’re paying top dollar to live here in New York.”