New York Town Declares State of Emergency Banning Hotels, Facilities From Housing Immigrants

Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York, declared a state of emergency on May 16 in an effort to prevent an influx of illegal immigrants from being sent to the small town following the expiration of Title 42.

Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar signed the emergency declaration after reports emerged that officials from New York City were arranging to transport immigrants to a number of hotels and motels in the town.

According to a statement from Aguiar’s office, the order was signed “based on information received and in response to reports that the New York City Department of Homeless Services has, or will be arranging for the transportation and relocation of undocumented migrants and/or asylum seekers to hotels or motels within the Town of Riverhead.”

Aguiar told News 12 Long Island that New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, had recently sent out an advisory to all housing facilities in Suffolk County stating that the city would pay for the housing of immigrants for 12 months if the facilities agreed to accommodate them.

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In response, Aguiar—who previously worked as a detective sergeant for the NYPD Counter Terrorism Division—declared a state of emergency to stave off what she anticipates would be thousands of immigrants heading to the small town, leaving it overburdened.

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“It’s going to tax our schools that are already overwhelmed, it’ll probably increase the crime rate because these individuals are going to be hungry in the street and they need shelter,” Aguiar told News 12 Long Island. “It’s going to tax police; it’s going to tax the hospitals. The infrastructure component, we don’t have it.”

Under Aguiar’s state of emergency, all facilities across the town including hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfast facilities, homeless shelters, and lodgings are banned from accepting immigrants.

Facilities that violate the order will be “dealt with in the courts,” Aguiar told News 12.

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Aguiar also took aim at the Biden administration for failing to anticipate the huge volume of immigrants that would overwhelm the southern border when Title 42—which allowed Border Patrol agents to turn illegal immigrants back to Mexico immediately over public health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic—expired.

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