From the Associated Press: New York City on Tuesday closed the arrival center for migrants it had established at the Roosevelt Hotel, a once-grand Manhattan hotel that had become an emblem of the city’s fraught efforts to manage the flood of new migrants when it opened two years ago.
The midtown hotel, located blocks from Grand Central Terminal, served as the first stop for tens of thousands of immigrants arriving in the city seeking free shelter and services, with migrant families lining up and sometimes even sleeping on the street outside the hotel waiting for a bed.
Monday was the center’s last full day in operation, and the hotel was vacant as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ office. Services provided at the Roosevelt, including registration, legal assistance and medical care, are now being offered to migrants at other shelter locations, the office said.
Adams announced the city was winding down its operation at the Roosevelt and other migrant shelters in February as the surge of immigration from the U.S. southern border with Mexico waned.
The city is currently housing more than 37,000 migrants across 170 sites, down from a peak of nearly 70,000 last January, officials said Tuesday.
During the Biden administration’s open-border policy, as many as 4,000 illegal aliens were pouring into New York City, a self-advertised sanctuary city, per week.
Mayor Adams’ office reported that, as of last week, the city is getting less than 100 new illegal alien arrivals per week.
The historic Roosevelt Hotel, which features 1,000 rooms, first opened in 1924. Since 2000, the hotel has been owned by Pakistan International Airlines, who reportedly want to sell it after all the illegal aliens move out.
The city had been renting the hotel for a migrant shelter.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) wrote, “New Yorkers have spent over $7 BILLION to house illegal immigrants in NYC. The closure of the Roosevelt Hotel is a long-overdue step in working to end this madness. No more taxpayer-funded hotels for illegal migrants. It’s time to put New Yorkers first.”
New Yorkers have spent over $7 BILLION to house illegal immigrants in NYC.
The closure of the Roosevelt Hotel is a long-overdue step in working to end this madness.
No more taxpayer-funded hotels for illegal migrants. It’s time to put New Yorkers first. https://t.co/jshezlWQ9Q
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) June 22, 2025
Last week, Fox News correspondent Cheryl Casone wrote, “Watching @NY1 & they just reported that New York City taxpayers not only paid for luxury accommodations at the Roosevelt Hotel for illegal migrants, but we also paid for their THERAPY. You’ve got to be kidding me. Now @GovKathyHochul is spending $50M on their legal bills. I really hope working class New Yorkers who are struggling to eat/pay rent & bills wake up to this ridiculous waste of $$$.”
Watching @NY1 & they just reported that New York City taxpayers not only paid for luxury accommodations at the Roosevelt Hotel for illegal migrants, but we also paid for their THERAPY. You’ve got to be kidding me. Now @GovKathyHochul is spending $50M on their legal bills. I…
— Cheryl Casone (@cherylcasone) June 19, 2025
Tune in to hear us talk about all we’re doing to take care of this community, and hear about everything else happening in our city: https://t.co/ZLptAbH4T7
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) June 24, 2025
READ MORE from the Associated Press.
