Scores of migrants in Texas say they are eager for a chance to get to New York City — even though they know it’s “chaos” thanks to the flood of asylum-seekers before them.
“I think migrants are turning New York into chaos. The migrants haven’t learned to adapt to live in the US,” an asylum-seeker who only gave his first name, Daniel, told The Post in El Paso on Tuesday.
He suggested many of the people aiming to go to New York have been enticed by the city’s generous housing policies after headlines of migrants being moved into renovated hotels like the historic Roosevelt in Manhattan.
“The migrants who arrived before now were allowed to stay in five-star hotels. They were given time to get on their feet, but they didn’t do that,” said Daniel, who added he is still considering heading to the Big Apple because of its “passion” and his love of hip hop.
“They were supposed to use that time and have moved on from receiving help to leave those spots open for the next wave of migrants who are arriving,” the Venezuelan man said. “They became too dependent on the help.
“New York gave us [migrants] a place to stay. They’re not the bad guys,” he said of city officials. “Some of these migrants want to live here how they did in Venezuela, but we’re not there anymore.”
Winston Ballena from Caracas, Venezuela, said he and fellow migrants have been warned about the current situation in New York City, which has been inundated with more than 95,600 asylum-seekers since last spring.
“I’ve heard it’s tough there. I have a cousin who lives there,” Ballena said. “He tells me that we went from making $20 an hour to $15, now $10 in the same job. They keep lowering wages.”
With so many migrants in the city, Ballena said, it was clear job opportunities for him would be scarce. But despite facing the realities, he said he remains undeterred and plans to stay with a relative once he arrives.
“New York is the most famous city. Everyone wanted to go there and see it for themselves,” he said.
Despite the optimistic view, Ballena and other migrants have said they have backup plans if they fail to find livable conditions in New York, which is having trouble finding housing for all the migrants.
Jose Manuel, 35, also from Venezuela, said his plan to stay in New York is only temporary, noting that his wife, who lives in the city with their two kids, barely makes a living wage.
“Life is hard there, very, very hard. They only pay her $7 or $8 an hour,” he said. “Imagine that. She washed plates, whatever it takes.”
Manuel said the latest waves of asylum-seekers in recent years have been blinded by the success of previous migrants, calling the once alluring Big Apple nothing more than “a fantasy.”
“When this all started, we were told [New York City] was a beauty. Now, everyone is escaping from there,” he said. “I have one friend who went to Alaska, some who are going to other places … anywhere so long as they can leave New York. They tell me there’s no life there.”
He added, “I need a stable job, stability. That’s not in New York. Things are tough there.”
