The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly opened a criminal investigation Wednesday into New York City hotels operating as migrant shelters, focusing on their funding and management, according to multiple outlets.
A copy of a federal subpoena obtained by The New York Times and the New York Post, sent to Manhattan’s Hotel Chandler, reportedly shows prosecutors requesting testimony and evidence related to the migrant shelter program concerning an unspecified “alleged violation” of federal immigration law. Prosecutors also requested a full list of migrants currently residing at the hotel, including their nationality, dates of birth and identification numbers, according to the Times.
New York City has become home to more than 160,000 migrants since the influx of illegal immigrants began under the Biden-Harris administration, as Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly asked the federal government for help over the years. With shelters being built and schools and hotels converted to accommodate the influx, the city spent $1.47 billion on asylum seeker shelter and services in the 2023 fiscal year and $3.75 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, according to data from NYC’s Comptroller’s Office. (RELATED: Dem Mayor Stands By $650,000 Legal Bill To Prepare For Congressional Hearing)
According to the Times, federal prosecutors requested that the hotel provide names of entities and individuals responsible for the “funding and management of the illegal immigrant/migrant shelter program,” along with any potential contracts or agreements that pertain to the program.
Recently arrived migrants wait at a bus stop outside Floyd Bennet Field shelter on February 21, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the Hotel Chandler being transformed into a homeless shelter, both The Times and New York Post have reported that the Midtown hotel has not been used for migrants. However, the Candler Building in Times Square has been used as a housing center for illegal immigrants.
The DOJ’s move comes after NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel, which had been used as a shelter for illegal migrants, began shutting down its Asylum Arrival Center and Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Feb. 24. Adams announced the closure of the migrant arrival center due to a significant drop in weekly arrivals.
“Our city was receiving 4,000 migrants each week during the height of the crisis, and now we’re down to approximately 350 new arrivals each week,” Adams said.
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his second administration has made significant efforts to get a hold of the illegal migrant crisis, as millions entered the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration. Led by border czar Tom Homan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Trump administration has made over 30,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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