The Right to Shelter: An Examination of Border Policies

Please note that this article is intended to provide factual coverage of events and is NOT intended to express political opinion. Any and all opinions that may be implied do not represent the official stances of the Poudre Press, Poudre School District, or Poudre High School.

Migrants entering into the US (Associated Press)

As the upcoming election gets closer one issue that is sure to be of high contention is the US-Mexico border. Major American cities such as Denver, Chicago, and New York City are feeling the burden of handling thousands of migrants. In New York the city has a policy known as the “right to shelter”. The right to shelter has existed for decades but now Mayor Eric Adams of New York is seeking to suspend the law. The law mandates that the city provide emergency housing to anyone who asks for it. Due to the massive influx of migrants in the city the Mayor has claimed that this policy has cost the city $12 billion. To put into perspective the number of migrants in New York City in recent years there has been over 100,000 asylum seekers in the City since early 2022. Adams, a Democrat, has even said that this issue could “destroy” New York City. Although this hawkish idea isn't universally accepted in the city. Josh Goldfein, a member of the Legal Aid Society which advocates that “no New Yorker should be denied the right to equal justice” is opposed to Adam's solution. Goldfein believes that it would make the problem significantly worse and claims that the move would result in thousands of people living in the “streets, in the subways, and in the parks, is that the outcome they want?”. Mayor Adams also visited Latin America recently where he attempted to discourage further migrations to New York City.

In an attempt to reduce migration at the border, the Biden administration has relinquished reviews which previously prevented construction of further border wall along the US-Mexico border. During his election campaign in 2020 Biden promised to “not build another foot of wall”. But Biden claims that he’s not purposely breaking his promise and that he’s required by law which was passed during the Trump administration to continue construction. A spokesman for President Biden attacked the “Trump Playbook” on immigration as nothing more than “family separation, caging kids, and shouting border”. When the President took office in 2021 he signed executive orders stopping all construction of the border wall, and he ended the remain in Mexico policy. That policy required asylum seekers to remain in Mexico prior to their hearing. Due to the high number of migrants crossing the border the President has received bipartisan criticism about his handling of the border, with 6 in 10 Americans, and 66% of independents disapproving of Biden’s handling of the border. Still some Americans think that Biden has been too tough on immigration, when he was a senator he repeatedly voted for expanded fencing at the border, and he was Vice President in the Obama administration which set records for the amount of deportations that occurred during a President's tenure.

The issue of the border and migration is certainly very complex and polarizing in our modern political climate. At the 2nd GOP Presidential debate candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for an end for birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. All the other candidates severely criticized the Biden administration for its record on immigration.

Please note that this article is intended to provide factual coverage of events and is NOT intended to express political opinion. Any and all opinions that may be implied do not represent the official stances of the Poudre Press, Poudre School District, or Poudre High School.

Brody is a senior at Poudre High School working at the Poudre Press for the first time. Some of Brody's interests include government, history, and world events. He runs a column called 2024 Today which delves into relevant news around the upcoming 2024 election. You can find his blog here.

Sources:

Izaguirre, Anthony. “New York City Moves to Suspend ‘right to Shelter’ as Migrant Influx Continues.” AP News, October 4, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/new-york-city-immigration-shelter-eric-adams-480120d5d46d4b85a3c353c628a7d018.

Weissert, Will, and Adriana Gomez Licon. “Biden Faces More Criticism about the US-Mexico Border, One of His Biggest Problems Heading into 2024.” AP News, AP News, 8 Oct. 2023, apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-border-wall-trump-2024-democrats-646f656dbfecf268f0cb182c74ad47ca.