A new poll found that nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers blame President Biden for the migrant crisis, raising national security, financial and other concerns in the Empire State.
According to a Sienna College poll released Tuesday, 64% of New Yorkers disapprove of the job Biden is doing to address the recent influx of migrants in the state as of October. That includes 48% of Democrats who flunk Biden for his handling of the crisis, 91% of Republicans and 72% of independents. The poll found 46% of New Yorkers disapprove and just 30% approve of how New York City Mayor Eric Adams has addressed the influx of migrants, and as for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, 52% disapprove, while just 37% approve.
“While other issues in Washington and abroad have largely driven the news cycle over the last few weeks, the influx of migrants to New York remains top of mind for voters, with 84% saying it’s a serious – 57% very serious – problem for the state,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem.”
“The strong majority of voters last month who said by 22 points that New Yorkers must work to slow the flow of migrants rather than accept and assimilate them, has grown to an overwhelming 35-point majority today,” Greenberg assessed. “That view is shared by 82% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 52% of Democrats, as well as two-thirds of downstaters and 59% of upstaters.”
MIGRANTS DEFY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ CALLS FOR THEM TO STAY AWAY FROM NEW YORK: ‘WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE’
“While a plurality of New Yorkers do not approve of the job Adams is doing to address the influx of migrants, a 58-32% majority of New Yorkers – including a narrow plurality of Democrats – agree with Adams’ statement that ‘this issue will destroy New York City.’ A majority of White (60%), Black (57%) and Latino (51%) voters all agree,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg assessed that New York remains a “true blue state,” as 49% of voters are enrolled as Democrats and only 23% as Republicans.
“True, the last Republican presidential candidate to win here was Ronald Reagan in 1984. But also true is that just last year, a Republican came within seven points of being elected governor,” he added, noting Hochul’s relatively narrow victory over GOP gubernatorial candidate and then-congressman Lee Zeldin, who gained major ground with his anti-bail reform, tough on crime platform.
“And also true is that right now, Biden has his worst-ever New York favorability and job approval ratings,” Greenberg said. “The good news for Biden is the election is more than a year away. The bad news is there’s more bad news.”
Greenberg noted that the poll found 52% of Democrats say they want a different presidential nominee in 2024. Addtionally, in the general, he said, Biden only leads Trump 46-37%, “a far cry from the 61-38% margin Biden won by in 2020.” Biden’s lead slips to just seven points if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornell West – who, combined, win the support of nearly one in five voters – are on the ballot, Greenberg added.
As of Oct. 16, more than 126,700 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring, including more than 64,100 people who remain in the city’s care. With the rate at which migrants are pouring into New York City increasing, the Big Apple has faced a dual crisis due to the war in Israel. Hamas leaders have called for action around the globe, and the NYPD bolstered patrols this month, but Adams said so far there has been no credible threat.
Adams’ relationship with Biden has soured over recent months amid the mayor’s urging for further and timely support from federal authorities in handling the migrant crisis.
While Adams and Biden did not meet last month while the president was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, Hochul did meet Biden and secured a deal with the White House in fast-tracking work authorization for Venezuelans.
While Hochul has seemingly helped facilitate Adams’ controversial strategy of relocating migrants across the state by identifying tens of thousands of eligible jobs across various counties available for migrants, the city is also opening a migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field, an airfield in Brooklyn, in the coming weeks “to serve families with children seeking asylum in a semi-congregate setting.” City officials said privacy dividers with locks will be installed to provide approximately 500 families with children a place to stay.
