New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is asking the court to suspend New York’s “right-to-shelter” rule. The city is struggling to provide resources and housing to over 40,000 migrants on limited federal funding.

New York City’s “right to shelter” rule is a decades old regulation that requires it to provide a mattress to anyone who meets certain criteria.

Adams wants to waive the rule because “the City of New York, acting through the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), lacks the capacity and resources to establish and maintain adequate shelter sites, staffing and security in order to provide safe, appropriate shelter,” says Jonathan Pines of the New York City Law Department, who submitted the application to the Deputy Chief Administrative judge Deborah Kaplan of the New York City Courts.

Pines continued:

The City has borne the brunt of the financial and social burdens of the national crisis.

The City Defendant faces challenges that were never anticipated, foreseeable or even remotely imagined by anyone who signed the Callahan judgment.

The administration of President Joe Biden has so far sent New York City only $40 million for the handling of the migrant crises, despite Adams’ request for over $650 million.

Adams stated in a press release:

“Given the fact that we are unable to care for an infinite number of people, and that we are already overextended in our capacity, it’s in everyone’s best interest, including those who wish to come to America, to be upfront about the fact that New York City can not provide care to all of the people crossing the border. We cannot collapse our system if we are dishonest. Our government partners must know the truth about this and take their part.

According to officials, more than 73,000 migrants arrived in New York City between last spring and now. New York Post reports that the city provides housing for more than 44,000 migrants, in up to 150 “emergency shelters” or hotels.

Jacques Jiha, Director of the New York City Office of Management and Budget, warned the City Council on Tuesday that “we will be caring for more asylum seekers every night than the number of people we had in our DHS shelters last year.”

Officials estimate that the city will have to pay out $4.3 billion in compensation for these migrants by June 2024.

Adams stated bluntly last month that the migrant crises is “destroying” the city.