What A Day - How NYC’s Mayor Fails Migrants

Episode Date: January 25, 2024

New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his third State of the City address on Wednesday. Since just last spring, 170,000 migrants have arrived in New York City, tens of thousands of whom were sent b...y Texas Governor Greg Abbott. But in his speech, Mayor Adams fell short of providing any real plans to address the situation. We’re joined by Christine Quinn, former Speaker of the New York City Council and current head of shelter operator Win, to discuss what migrants need and what providers in the city are doing to meet the moment.And in headlines: the United Auto Workers Union endorsed President Joe Biden, nine people were killed and more than 70 were injured after a UN shelter in Khan Younis was bombed, and Obamacare hit a record level of enrollment.Show Notes:Win NYC – https://winnyc.org/Politico: “War cats: Ukraine enlists feline friends in fight against Russia” – http://tinyurl.com/ysytnmhpWhat A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Thursday, January 25th. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver. And this is What A Day, the pod that agrees that if you want to make your propaganda pop, use cats. Yes, we are head over heels for this story in Politico of how Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines
Starting point is 00:00:16 are using social media to show off the abandoned cats that they have found and now care for. We love it. Naturally, Russia is now trying to do the same. We don't love that as much. Don't be a copycat. On today's show, the Auto Workers Union endorsed President Biden, plus a record 21 million people signed up for Obamacare. But first, we talk about the migrant crisis that continues to grow with Republican governors sending those in need to other states. That's because New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his third state of the city
Starting point is 00:00:49 address yesterday. The city has been dealing with an influx of migrants in the past year. Since just last spring, 170,000 migrants arrived in New York City, tens of thousands of which have been sent to the city by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. About 70,000 migrants are still being housed by New York City. But in his speech yesterday, Mayor Adams fell short of providing any real plans to address the situation and instead kind of tooted his own horn, which was not warranted. Never is. We have helped tens of thousands file applications to extend temporary protective status, seek asylum, and obtain work authorizations. We are proud.
Starting point is 00:01:27 We have done our part, but we need others to do their part. Done your part, huh? Yeah, well, that seems to just omit, I don't know, the elephant in the room, the pictures that we see every single day. It's ringing a little hollow. Yeah, as we've covered on the show here, the city started to evict migrant families that hit the limit of 60 days in a shelter, a policy which Mayor Adams announced last October. And just last week, about three dozen migrants slept on snowy streets in Brooklyn in hopes of getting ID cards they thought would help them find work. So there is still a lot that needs to be done to help migrants and asylum seekers in New York City. Yeah, so much to be done. It really is heartbreaking to watch and hear these updates just daily. So hopefully he gets the idea soon. And I know there are a lot of people working to
Starting point is 00:02:16 help the people in this situation. But yeah, Mayor Adams, there is more to be done. I wanted to learn more about what migrants themselves need at this moment in time and what providers in the city are doing to meet the moment. For that, I spoke with Christine Quinn, president and CEO of WIN, or Women in Need, the largest provider of family shelter and supportive housing in New York City. She's also the former speaker of the New York City Council. And she started by talking about how Mayor Eric Adams is taking advantage of the situation. So, you know, 40 years ago, there was a consent decree that established through the courts the right to shelter. The mayor is in court right now using the migrants as a manipulative tool
Starting point is 00:03:00 to try to get the courts to repeal the right to shelter. When you're taking that kind of a posture, you're not rolling up your sleeves and saying, how do we help these folks? I mean, these are individuals, some of whom, most of whom have walked to America. These folks walked through rivers. Now, I believe that struggle is so much the struggle of the history of what made New York great. And we have an obligation as New Yorkers to help these folks. Speaking of Mayor Eric Adams, he delivered his State of the City address yesterday and had this to say about immigration. Take a listen. Asylum, humanitarian crisis may not be over, but New Yorkers can be proud that we have demonstrated leadership and compassion with so many others showed only cowardice and cruelty. Now, that doesn't quite match what you just shared about what Mayor Adams
Starting point is 00:03:59 is doing in the court. So I want your reaction to what he just said. It's inaccurate. You know, let me tell you, I mentioned the thing in the court. Let me want your reaction to what he just said. It's inaccurate. You know, let me tell you, I mentioned the thing in the court. Let me tell you another thing the mayor is doing. Homeless families who are in shelter, every 60 days, they basically get an eviction notice and they have to go and reapply for shelter. Like who does that help? You know what he hopes is that people will just become, I guess, burnt out by the process and go somewhere else. Except where are they going to go? Where are they going to go? It is harassment, plain and simple. And now recently, the order of the 60-day rule was amended. And if you are more than seven months pregnant, you don't have to go. And we're supposed to applaud that? Right. That seems really
Starting point is 00:04:54 bare minimum when we're thinking about the impact of the trauma of the experience of being unhoused, but also what we've read in the papers about the inhumane treatment that migrants are receiving when they're being evicted. Think about it. You're in a shelter in, I'm making this up, in East New York, and you're going to school there. After the 60-day rule, you're in a shelter in Washington Heights, and, you know, school can be really stabilizing to children who have had so much trauma. That's a great point because that's what I was going to ask about the children who are being impacted by this. I appreciate you mentioning the mothers and pregnant people who are being impacted, but this also leaves scars on children who are just like their parents and their families, just trying to have a better life. And I want to go back to a little bit of the need that you're
Starting point is 00:05:45 hearing because you're speaking with migrants and asylum seekers on a regular basis. I want to hear what they're telling you about why they arrived in New York and what they specifically need. What are you hearing from them directly? So we have about a thousand migrants that we're housing right now, and we're going to be taking over another building, which will be 95 families, probably about 300 people, give or take, in the next couple of weeks. So they are the most grateful people. You know, they're in a shelter, but they're in America. They're in New York. The fact that there are public schools for their children where they can learn safely. I mean, it just means everything to them and just incredibly resilient. All the migrants want, all they want is to be Americans.
Starting point is 00:06:34 And what they really want is to work. That ability to get the work permits is a legal process. And we came to understand that you only have a year to put your process in place and then you lose your opportunity. So with the New York Legal Assistance Group and the Fragament Law Firm, we put in place a legal clinic to help those individuals get their process going so they could get whatever status they could qualify for. And I think that's so just demonstrative of the value of your organization and collaborating with local legal resources because that addresses that immediate need. Now, I'm also curious about what permanent solutions exist to help migrants remain housed and secure. So the emergency shelters are temporary.
Starting point is 00:07:29 And with the 60-day evictions, it's hard to see this strategy providing any type of long-term solution. So what do you think needs to be done to make sure people have a place to stay and a way to make a living in the long run? We talked about the legal aid helping with processing paperwork and documents to get work permits. But what else needs to happen? Well, a couple of things, you know, need to happen. One, the governor needs to expand her program around getting work permits and also kind of expand it to cover more folks and have more staff to move things more quickly. Two, we need to get rid of the 60-day rule. And there's a 30-day rule for single folks. And so we need to get rid of the 60-day rule, and there's a 30-day rule for single folks.
Starting point is 00:08:05 And so we need to get rid of both of those rules. And we need to have the mayor and the governor put in place orders to expand housing vouchers to undocumented folks. The work permits and the vouchers will make all the world of difference. Let's talk about how to address this problem on the state and national levels at the same time. Earlier this week, nine Democratic governors across the country, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, signed a letter to the White House calling on the administration to address this humanitarian crisis. So what more do you think the Biden administration needs to do to both support migrants and cities receiving new arrivals,
Starting point is 00:08:46 especially in the context of an election year when we know he's trying to appeal to voters? The first thing the administration should do is make funds available to places like New York and Chicago and other places that are having buses sent by Governor Abbott of Texas, who seems to cruelly just, you know, say how many buses he is going to send. Particularly now, you know, it's bad weather here, but think about Chicago. It's just wrong. Two, the president should put more countries under TPS, you know, and if you aren't going to vote for the president because he's helping migrants through temporary protective status, you don't care if it's one country or 10 countries. Right. You're not going to vote for him. So I don't understand the politics of only doing
Starting point is 00:09:40 Venezuela when there are other countries that would make an enormous difference. Three, I think he should look at all of his different departments and see how they can help. Two, once we get work permits going and the president can get involved and make work permits easier, we need to connect those who get work permits to the big jobs like in the Department of Transportation that Secretary Buttigieg is doing so we can put people to work. Right, because there are projects as an extension of the previous legislation passed by this administration that do require workers. So that's clear through line there. But you did mention Governor Abbott.
Starting point is 00:10:21 So I feel like we should take a second for these Republican governors and their inhumanity, because how much of this crisis do you think they are to blame for? Because they're the ones who are sending these migrants to Democratic led cities. For Governor Abbott to say we need more money because we children, the elderly, and using them as a political pawn to try to stick it to President Biden because he's a Democrat, I mean, that's just a sin. There's no other word for it. And he should be ashamed of himself. And that was my conversation with Christine Quinn, president and CEO of Wynn, talking about the growing crisis of migrants being sent to New York City from Republican states. And that's the latest for now. Let's get to some headlines. The United Auto Workers Union, or UAW, endorsed President Biden yesterday,
Starting point is 00:11:31 affirming their support for his re-election bid. UAW President Sean Fain announced the news at a nationwide conference of auto workers. Take a listen. And this choice is clear. Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker. So if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it. Biden took the stage shortly after that to thank Fain and the union for their endorsement. Here is what he had to say. The days of working people being dealt out
Starting point is 00:12:04 of the deal are over in this country as long as I'm president. Working people are going to get their fair share. You've earned it. You fought for it. And you deserve it. Yeah, he is clearly very passionate about this issue. The UAW's endorsement is a big deal for Biden's campaign as he makes his case for a second term to workers across the country, especially given that he calls himself the quote most pro-union president you've ever seen. And it comes after Biden stood firmly with autoworkers during their strike against Detroit's big three automakers last year. You'll remember that he became the first sitting president to walk a picket line when he joined striking UAW members for a rally back in September. But some autoworkers weren't on board
Starting point is 00:12:50 with this endorsement. Protesters interrupted yesterday's conference when Biden took the stage, chanting ceasefire now before they were escorted out of the event. The UAW is one of many unions that have publicly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, a move that Biden still does not support despite growing calls for him to do so. And for news out of Gaza, nine people were killed and more than 70 were injured after a United Nations shelter in Han Yunis was bombed yesterday. Two tank rounds hit the building, which was sheltering 800 people, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency. While the UN didn't confirm who launched the attack, Israel denied responsibility. But it's important to note that only Israel uses tanks in
Starting point is 00:13:32 the conflict. A UN spokesperson told Al Jazeera that they received no warning of the attack and that the agency hasn't been able to access the compound for the past two days because of the presence of Israeli tanks. UN officials are expecting the number of victims to rise. They also said that they have to coordinate with the Israeli army in order to send ambulances to the site. And I feel like this fully tracks with what we've seen with the IDF blocking aid and resources getting into Gaza. And so now it applies to critical medical care after they hit UN buildings. The head of the UN agency said that yesterday's attack was, quote, once again, a blatant disregard of the U.N. agency said that yesterday's attack was, quote, once again, a blatant disregard of the rules of war.
Starting point is 00:14:09 Now we turn to the ongoing fight against anti-trans legislation in red states. On Wednesday, Ohio's Republican-controlled state Senate reversed Republican Governor Mike DeWine's veto of an anti-trans bill. To catch you up to speed, DeWine made headlines back in December for vetoing House Bill 68, which was a law that would ban medical professionals from providing gender-affirming care to trans kids. The law would also bar trans girls from participating in school sports that align with their gender, both in grades K through 12 and at the collegiate level. But DeWine vetoed
Starting point is 00:14:40 the bill, saying that families should be able to decide what kind of care is right for their children, not the government. And many trans advocates let out a sigh of relief, hoping that that would be the end of it. But now that the Ohio Senate vetoed DeWine's decision yesterday, along with the statehouse two weeks ago, the bill is set to become law in 90 days. This makes Ohio the 22nd state to approve a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and the 24th to ban trans kids from sports, meaning that nearly half the country has adopted laws targeting trans youth. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:15:13 And also the reality that the walls are closing in because there is no place to go to escape this type of treatment and targeting. Truly. If you want to learn more about how you can fight back, visit votesaveamerica.com slash fuck bans. It is really easy to feel dejected and disheartened, but doing something about it is the easiest antidote to that and the only way that we will get ourselves out of this situation. Notch a win for democracy in Louisiana. On Monday, the state ushered in a new congressional map that creates a second majority black district.
Starting point is 00:15:45 It came out of a long political battle where a federal court ordered Louisiana to draw up a map that did not dilute the political power of black communities. If it did, it will be in violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act. Louisiana's first try at making a map in 2022 was challenged in court by a group of black voters who said it didn't go far enough. Republicans eventually relented and agreed to help pass this new map last week. Here's Democratic state representative and member of the Legislative Black Caucus, Edmund Jordan, after the vote. We've got a lot of work to do. And so that means that we've got to register people to vote.
Starting point is 00:16:16 We've got to get them out to the polls to ensure that the work that we've done actually comes to fruition. Right, because the map is step one. There are so many other things that need to happen to make sure voters know their power and head to the polls in November. Totally. Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed that map into law on Monday. The new majority black district stretches through the middle of the state and is currently represented by Republican Garrett Graves, who could lose his seat when voters cast their ballots
Starting point is 00:16:42 in November. Yeah, I am liking the sound of Edmund Jordan's plan here. Let's get some people mobilized, ready to go to the polls. Big opportunity here. And finally, Obamacare has hit a record level of enrollment. More than 21 million people signed up for health plans through the Affordable Care Act for 2024. That is according to an announcement by the Biden administration released yesterday. That is almost 5 million more signups than last year at this same time. Of course, all of this comes while Donald Trump is out there vowing to repeal the program if he is elected president once again. Biden said in a statement yesterday, quote,
Starting point is 00:17:22 The American people have made it clear they don't want the Affordable Care Act weakened and repealed. They want it strengthened and protected. Obamacare has survived multiple attempts to be repealed throughout Trump's presidency. Enrollment seems to have spiked in Midwestern and southern states, including many that are actually led by Republicans. So why the big increase? Well, one factor may be the wave of low-income Americans who lost their Medicaid coverage. A lot of residents had Medicaid because of a provision in the COVID-19 relief bill, but that expired last April. And while Obamacare isn't free like Medicaid, under Biden, health plans in the Affordable Care Act have become more affordable. Yeah, I feel like this is yet another example of the choice election we're faced with in 2024. You have Trump and Republicans who want to take away your health care just like they have for the past 10 years or so and cause people harm. And you have the Biden administration that wants to protect your access to health care. It seems really straightforward, right?
Starting point is 00:18:19 Very simple if you're paying attention. Big if. Emphasis on that if because that's doing a lot of work. Yeah, if you're not burying your head in the sand, it's pretty clear. But that's just not the case for everybody. And those are the headlines. We'll be back after some ads for Juanita and I to talk about the most important issue to us this week.
Starting point is 00:18:39 The Hot Goss from Reality TV. It's Thursday, Wild Squad, and out of all of the hosts, I think it's safe to say that Juanita and I probably devour the most reality TV. For sure.
Starting point is 00:18:53 Josie and Trayvon might come for us, but that is a problem for another day. This is probably a fact. And until Crooked creates its own recap show, we are taking a moment
Starting point is 00:19:02 to point out that this news show can cover reality news too. TV is culture, therefore relevant to what we do here. So today we are doing a little segment that we like to call Reality Check. I love it! So much! I was excited about you listening to that one and your reaction did not disappoint. I'm so happy right now. We are here with our resident expert on The Real Housewives, Juanita, to fill us in on the latest drama unfolding around The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Starting point is 00:19:38 Because to say that the internet isn't a tizzy about this would really be an understatement. It's the newest iteration of Gossip Girl. It really is. So Juanita, this franchise has already had more than its fair share of scandal. Jen Shaw famously went to prison for criminal conspiracy where she is serving a six and a half year sentence and has reportedly befriended fellow fraudster Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. That is a whole, a whole other thing. But there is a new villain in town and a new catchphrase, apparently. So can you explain to us what exactly went down here and why the words receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots
Starting point is 00:20:09 is currently scrolling across Google when you search this show? Look, it all went down in the Bermuda Triangle when the newest housewife, Monica, was exposed as a gossip girl, right? Okay, follow me here. I think Monica is both a victim and a villain. One, she has endured a lot of trauma in her life from Jinshaw, from her family, from her mother, and that impacts how she behaves.
Starting point is 00:20:32 Sure. I.e., the villain behavior and the lashing out. She decided to lash out on social media for the past few years to expose Jinshaw, but to also attack the other members of the Real Housewives. After she did all that, she decided, okay, I'll join the show now.
Starting point is 00:20:46 That is so wild to me. Like, how did that even happen? Apparently, she told Andy on the reunion that she told casting that she was behind this account, but that is not true. Whoa, okay. The other thing that came out is that she was exposed because her bestie flipped
Starting point is 00:21:01 and sent the other cast members the videos of her stalking Jin Shaw. The screenshots of her sending harmful messages about each of them all of it so thus you have your tag phrase thus you have your villain but the door is not closed for monica she could be back in the future even though she's taking next season off yeah taking next season off i mean i have not kept up with salt lake city i I'm a New York girl. It's worth a watch, though. Oh, not new new. I'm new New York. It's too much. There's too much for me. But the way that this captures
Starting point is 00:21:31 the imagination of the internet, you need to understand Housewives lore to be able to navigate certain corners of the internet. You need to understand. So I'm really glad that you brought us all up to speed because otherwise we would just be kind of flying blind here. What I appreciate most, though, is the investment of multiple media outlets to cover this, including The Cut that has a new interview with Monica out just yesterday. I did that. Give that a read if you want more background on what's going down with Monica. That was Reality Check. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. I personally feel much better equipped to navigate the world with this new information. Now I can use receipts proof timeline screenshots and act like I know what I'm
Starting point is 00:22:11 talking about. So hopefully you feel smarter. Even better if you liked it. Talk about it with us in the discord channel. If you want to see this as a full show all the time. I mean, please send all the notes. Yeah, we want to hear from y'all. Put it in writing. One more thing before we go. Instagram and TikTok are ablaze with strong feelings about the recently announced
Starting point is 00:22:40 Oscar nominations and snubs. Even Crooked's culture Slack chat can't decide if the Poor Things storyline was weird art or just weird weird. To hear the latest noteworthy news and help decide if the movie on your watch list is a smash or pass, check out new episodes of Keep It, which drop every Wednesday, or head to their YouTube channel to watch full video versions of the pod. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, make cat videos, not war, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not
Starting point is 00:23:12 just every single piece of housewives gossip like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And here's our housewives tagline. No, no, no, no. See, here's theiver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And here's our Housewives tagline. No, no, no, no. See, here's the thing. I'm not that far gone in the universe, but what I will say is
Starting point is 00:23:31 baby has range. That's all. I have range. Receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots. I mean, it doesn't really work in the regular theme of the Housewives tagline,
Starting point is 00:23:39 but I kind of like it. Just here for Jenna. That might be mine. Just here for Jenna. That might be mine. Just here for Jenna Lyons. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer is Itzy Quintanilla. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers.
Starting point is 00:24:01 And our showrunner is Leo Duran. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.

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