Newly arrived asylum seekers wait in a holding area at the Port Authority bus terminal before being sent off to area shelters and hotels on May 15, 2023 in New York City, U.S. /CFP
The number of people in homeless shelters in New York City has surpassed 100,000 for the first time as migrants crossing the U.S. southern border have flooded into the city since last year.
Over 50,000 migrants were staying in the city's shelters amounting, for the first time, to a majority of the people there, local officials said days before the record population in homeless shelters was reported on Wednesday.
The city, long known as a popular destination for migrants, has allocated more than one billion U.S. dollars towards providing housing for the influx of migrants since the spring of 2022. Anticipating a continued increase in numbers, it projects that the expenditure will exceed four billion U.S. dollars by the coming year.