As deep blue New York scrambles to metabolize the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who have flooded the state since last year, many residents say they want a southern border wall.
More than four in ten New York state residents — 41% — said they support a border wall spanning the entire length of the country’s southern border with Mexico, according to a Siena College Poll released Tuesday.
Even in New York City, 38% of city dwellers said they support a border wall.
Half of New Yorkers said they would oppose a border wall spanning the length of the southern border, the poll found.
The border wall was a key project of former President Donald Trump’s administration, but President Biden later scrapped efforts to complete the wall on his first day in office.
The illegal drug market and the economic consequences of welcoming so many illegal migrants were also issues addressed by the poll.
About 38% of New Yorkers said they believe the current migrants coming into the country are the source of much of the illegal drugs entering our country, the poll found.
Even more, 42%, said the migrants take more in resources than they return in economic activity or taxes.
About 31% said that many people trying to immigrate to the U.S. are “dangerous potentially criminal people,” according to the poll.
Meanwhile, about 35% said they believe many people trying to immigrate to the U.S. “just want free hand-outs from our government and people … and do not want to work.”
More than 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since last year, and 60,000 are still being housed on the city’s dime, causing officials to open additional homeless shelters.
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Over the weekend, Adams announced budget cuts to the tune of billions of dollars due to the migrant crisis. All city agencies will be forced to reduce spending by 5% starting in November and 15% by next spring.
The city has already spent more than $1.2 billion on the migrants and is projected to spend up to $5 billion.
Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has since given New York City $140 million in federal funding to address the migrant crisis, but Adams has said it would take more aid to get the situation under control.
Migrants are also causing other headaches for New York besides overcrowding the emergency shelter system — some have caused public disturbances. Meanwhile, business owners in Manhattan say their businesses suffer significantly due to the chaos spilling onto the streets from hotels used as migrant shelters. Migrants have been spotted drinking and using drugs inside the hotels as well.
The Siena College Poll surveyed 800 New York state residents last week. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.