In July of 2023, New York City opened a new 24/7 arrival center for asylum seekers, in the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown. The Roosevelt, which occupies an entire city block on East 45th Street, is an iconic New York City landmark. Having opened in 1924 and after nearly 100 years of operation, it closed during COVID. 

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Now, it is serving as a first port-of-call for asylum seekers and refugees arriving in New York City. The center will offer accommodation, healthcare services including mental health counseling, referrals and insurance enrollment, school enrollment, and more. 

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However, despite its 850 rooms (and an additional 11 Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Centers serving the five boroughs), the Roosevelt reached capacity within a few weeks. By August of 2023, a line of migrants waiting for services, and sleeping on the streets in the meantime, extended around the block of the hotel. 

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More than 90,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, with more arriving every day. Because of the volume, and in a departure from its long-held status as a sanctuary city (a place that guarantees a right to shelter), the city has now begun discouraging asylum seekers from seeking refuge here, distributing fliers at the southern border that warn migrants there is “no guarantee” they will receive shelter or services. 
 

 

More information about the center can be found here.