Poll: 82% of New Yorkers believe migrant influx is a 'very serious' problem

A new poll released on Tuesday found that 82% of New Yorkers believe the migrant influx to the state is a “very serious problem.” 

The Siena College Survey found that 82% of voters from the region believe the unprecedented number of undocumented migrants arriving at the Big Apple is a serious problem. Similarly, 54% of respondents claimed it was a “very serious” problem, compared to 16% of voters who did not believe it was a problem.

“New Yorkers – including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and down-staters – overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.

Voters were asked to choose between one of the two following statements: “Should New Yorkers accept new migrants and work to assimilate them into New York” or “New Yorkers have already done enough for new migrants and should now work to slow the flow of migrants to New York.” 

Fifty-eight percent of voters said they believed the city and the state had done enough and should stop accepting more migrants, while only 36% said the state should accept more asylum seekers. 

"More than three-quarters of Republicans and 60% of independents say New Yorkers have done enough and must now slow the flow of migrants to the state, rather than accept and help assimilate them into New York, while Democrats are evenly divided," Greenberg continued. 

Voters were also asked whether they support or oppose relocating migrants from temporary living facilities in New York City to permanent communities around the state. Almost two-thirds of respondents who lived in the city said they supported the relocation. 

Around 96,000 undocumented migrants have arrived in New York City from the U.S.-Mexico border since April 2022. The city is welcoming an average of 300 to 500 migrants a day and is quickly running out of space to house the incoming migrants. 

The city has attempted to cope with the influx of migrants by opening more than 200 emergency shelters in hotels, cruise ship terminals, old jail facilities, and school gyms, among other facilities. However, the efforts have not been enough to handle the large number of arrivals and migrants have begun sleeping along Manhattan’s streets. 

“The city is running out of money, appropriate space, and personnel to care for families,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said last week. 

The migrant crisis is expected to cost the city around $12 billion over the next three years to house and care for the newcomers, the mayor’s office said.