NEW YORK (PIX11) — Cardinal Timothy Dolan Tuesday welcomed the migrants arriving from Texas to New York City.
As the buses continue to come to Manhattan, Catholic Charities said it is helping approximately 1,500 people who have been relocated to the city. The organization will work with the city to open a reception center to accommodate the migrants who are being bused to the state by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The organization has seen a steady influx of arrivals, but the numbers jumped last month when more than 200 families/people were coming per week, officials said.
“We try to see with the eyes of Jesus and try to respond as Jesus would,” Dolan said at a press conference in Midtown. “Our perspective is to simply help them.”
Mayor Eric Adams recently said New York has a moral and legal obligation to help the migrants, and the city has already opened 11 emergency shelter locations. Another challenge facing the city is getting the migrant children enrolled in the city schools, where there has been a shortage of bilingual teachers.
“As New Yorkers, we figure out how to expand our capacity to meet the newcomers,” Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, the executive director of Catholic Charities, said. “We don’t see this as merely a local problem. It’s a national problem, and as a nation, we need to deal with the crisis we are dealing with.”
