New York Hotels Evicting Homeless Veterans to House Migrants: Reports

Claims that New York hotels were reportedly evicting homeless veterans to house migrants in their place have been described as false.

The swap would have given the hoteliers an additional profit of $100 a night on average, it was reported, a situation that angered veteran rights activists.

The allegations were first reported by the New York Post. The nonprofit veteran organization Yerik Israel Toney (YIT) Foundation told the newspaper that nearly two-dozen U.S. military veterans were evicted last week by hotels in suburban New York City as the facilities seek to replace them with migrants. The veterans involved had already been rehoused, it was reported.

"Our veterans have been placed in another hotel due to what's going on with the immigrants," Sharon Toney-Finch, who runs the organization, said. "One of the vets called me on Sunday," she added. "He told me he had to leave because the hotel said the extended stay is not available... Then I got another call."

However, Toney-Finch's claim has since been dismissed as a fabrication. YIT spokesperson Brian Maher, a Republican lawmaker representing a part of Orange County, said that on Thursday that Toney-Finch, a veteran herself, admitted to him that she had made up the claims once the details of her story started unraveling.

"I asked her to give her permission to the bank to release the information. She denied authorization," Maher told the New York Post. "After two minutes, I called her back and explained how I was feeling about not being able to see that information, and then I asked her if that was something she made up, and that's when she really had a hard time getting the words out—this is someone who I worked with over the last three years—but she did reveal to me that this is not something that took place."

Asked why she would lie about such a thing, Toney-Finch told Maher, he said, that she "had to help the veterans."

The city of New York has been dealing with a surge in homelessness before the surge in migrant arrivals, leaving its shelters completely packed. More than 60,000 migrants have arrived in New York City in the past year, with 4,200 in the last week alone, according to City Hall officials.

Reports of hotels evicting veterans to accommodate migrants come as New York's mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, tries to redirect migrants upstate to ease pressure on the city. He said that he would have started sending migrants in Orange and Rockland counties a couple of weeks ago. He added that only those who'd participate voluntarily would be relocated. Migrants who chose to be homed in those counties would be housed in hotels for up to four months at the city's expense.

These veterans were promised temporary housing for a month, according to Toney-Finch. Fifteen of the 20 veterans kicked out of New York hotels were staying at The Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, Orange County, the activist had said. The other five were housed at the Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites in Middletown, some 70 miles north of Manhattan.

All evicted veterans have already been rehoused, according to Toney-Finch, but the trust between them and the organization has been broken, she said.

Two buses full of migrants reached Newburgh on Thursday last week, hours before the end of Title 42. This is the pandemic-era measure that allowed border authorities to immediately expel most of migrants crossing into the U.S. land borders.

The dozens of migrants were relocated to The Crossroads hotel. Their arrival was "peaceful," according to The New York Times. This is despite the fierce opposition the move had received, with about 15 supporters gathering to welcome the migrants.

While it's not clear exactly how much the city is paying hotels in upstate New York for housing migrants, previously reported deals between the authorities and Manhattan hotels have put the payment for housing migrants at $190 a night. In January, the New York Post reported that the city's Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District had won a judge's approval to become a migrant shelter. The hotel admin filed for bankruptcy after the pandemic and stood to be paid between $115 and $190 a night for the use of its rooms.

Toney-Finch told the New York Post that the organization paid about $88 a day for housing homeless veterans.

"These veterans served their country, taking an oath to put themselves in harm's way if need be," David R. Riley Sr., American Legion Department of New York commander, told the newspaper. "They deserve better. We owe them. Our country, our state, our citizens owe them."

Brian Mahler, a spokesperson for the YIT Foundation, told Newsweek before he had accused Toney-Finch of fabricating the claims that the migrants are not to blame for what's happening to the veterans.

"Legal asylum seekers are not to blame for this incident," he said. "Currently, the Biden Administration, Governor Hochul and the City of New York's lack of planning and communication have led to this current crisis displacing local veterans and who knows how many other at-risk New Yorkers.

"While these parties are currently to blame for the handling of this crisis, the root cause of this problem is a lack of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. Both political parties should have come together a long time ago and gotten something done. There is enough blame to go around for everyone. Our focus is on our veterans and making sure that no other New Yorkers are displaced as we continue to work through this issue," Mahler added.

"Sharon and her team at YIT were able to scramble and find new temporary housing for the veterans. However, it takes a lot to develop the trust of homeless combat veterans and convince them to receive assistance," he said. "This incident nearly broke that trust and if it weren't for Sharon being a combat veteran herself and her ability to connect with these veterans, we may have lost them for good. Now our focus is to make sure these 20 veterans know they are appreciated and not forgotten and to make sure no other hotel thinks about doing this again."

The expiration of Title 42 last week has raised concerns over a growing influx of migrants trying to cross the Southern border.

Adams said he had no choice but to send migrants north. He added that, unlike Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, the city will be paying for housing the migrants in hotel rooms and for other services. Last year, Adams declared a state of emergency after busloads of migrants sent from Texas to New York by Abbott created a "humanitarian crisis" in the city.

A total of 17,000 asylum seekers were bussed from Texas into New York City between April and October last year, according to Adams. It put a significant strain on the city's resources to manage the emergency. Abbott was among the Republican governors bussing asylum seekers to Democrat-run cities in 2022 to draw attention to the surge in migrant arrivals in the Southern states.

Newsweek contacted the hotels mentioned by Toney-Finch as involved in this practice, The Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, New York's Middletown's Super 8 Motel, and Hampton Inn, for comment by phone. ​​

Newsweek also reached out to the New York Mayor's Office via email for comment.

Update 5/22/23, 7:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that the original claim by Sharon Toney-Finch has since been described as a fabrication.

Update 5/15/23, 10:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from YIT Foundation spokesperson Brian Mahler.

Update 5/15/23, 7:35 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.