Protesters, Including Activist Curtis Sliwa, Arrested at Queens Shelter for Asylum Seekers

Protesters outside a New York City migrant shelter clashed with police Wednesday night, resulting in multiple arrests, CBS News reported. 

The protesters were rallying in opposition to a soon-to-open relief facility for asylum seekers and other migrants at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in the borough of Queens.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday that the facility on state-owned land will have the capacity to shelter up to 1,000 migrants. 

Activist and former New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa was one of those arrested.

Sliwa did not respond to a request for comment by The Messenger, but did tell CBS News that the group of protesters aimed to stop the shelter’s opening “through civil disobedience.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that the city has cared for upwards of 100,000 migrants over the last 18 months as the city sees an influx of asylum seekers and others, some of whom have been transported to the state at the expense of the Florida and Texas governments. 

Adams and Hochul have clashed over how much funding and logistical involvement the state should have in the operation of migrant aid shelters in the city.

The state is funding the Creedmoor shelter in its entirety, which Hochul said Wednesday in an interview with Spectrum News NY1 will likely cost roughly $350 million. 

Migrants will only be housed at Creedmoor for up to 60 days before being connected with an immigration caseworker.