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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. On today's show, our climate story of the week today advice on how to get solar energy more into your lives personally and into our energy grid as a matter of policy too. We will give you personal advice in this segment based on the Inflation Reduction Act incentives, and some other things going on. Also, New York State Senator John Liu of Queens, today, he is supporting a reduced class size bill that Governor Hoko is still deciding whether to sign two months after the legislature passed it, and also why Senator Liu released the audio last week of a racist voicemail that came in to him.

The August edition of BLTrees today, our monthly trip through the life of a tree for one full calendar year. We begin today with New York City Immigrant Affairs Commissioner, Manuel Castro. He told the city council hearing that two more buses with migrants seeking political asylum in the United States are expected to arrive in New York from Texas today. In fact, he's about to join us from Port Authority. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, as you probably heard by now, says he is sending people here to take advantage of New York City services for immigrants and its sanctuary city status.

Castro and Mayor Adams estimate 4,000 migrant asylum seekers have arrived in recent weeks, many without housing, forcing the city to open hotels as temporary homeless shelters. At the council hearing yesterday, Castro called Abbott's actions disgusting, cruel, and cowardly, but what's to be done? Commissioner Castro, thanks so much for some time this morning when you're right in the middle of all of this. Welcome to WNYC today.

Manuel Castro: Hi, Brian. Thank you for having me on the show.

Brian Lehrer: Just to start on today, in the present moment, do I have that right, that you're at Port Authority right now?

Manuel Castro: Yes, we've been at Port Authority since 5:00 in the morning. We are still processing families, but we're wrapping up. We actually welcomed three buses this morning. A little bit over 100 people, and unfortunately, eight of them needed medical attention. We're triaging, working through some of the more urgent cases that we're seeing. Our team has been here since 5:00 in the morning, as we have over the past week, and Port Authority has been incredible partners in all this.

Brian Lehrer: Can you talk a little bit more about the medical attention? I know you were outraged yesterday that Texas was sending some people here who needed insulin without any insulin.

Manuel Castro: Yes, Brian. This is one of our most concerning situations. We've seen people arrive in pretty bad shape. The most immediate thing people were looking for was water and food, and we're here providing those items. Some people today were having a hard time, some of them had a hard time breathing. We're making sure that they have PPE, access to COVID tests. It's concerning because they've been on three, sometimes four-day journeys to New York, and we know that very little is provided to them, and they of course have no money to purchase food and water.

We're making sure that they have those basic needs met as they arrive, and then we're connecting them to shelters. They're arriving in bad conditions and this is why we responded in such a way. The use of human beings as political pawns is always unacceptable, but this is just a terrible circumstance. We had about 12 children arrive today, many as young as two, three years old. They're scared. Of course, everyone seems a bit disoriented.

We know that for some their final destination is not New York City, despite what the governor says. We're having to, for instance, help a family connect to transportation back to North Carolina because that's where they have family. We heard of two families that needed to get to, one, Chicago and another Miami, actually. They're going to have to stay in our shelters for the time being until we figure out transportation for them.

In the last week or so, we've met, again, families who are in similar situations. One individual on Friday wanting to get to Portland, another family yesterday, who actually, on Sunday, who met Mayor Adams when he was here to welcome the bus of asylum seekers. The family wanted to get to Wisconsin where they had family. This was a mother with two children, a three-year-old, and an eight-year-old. Unfortunately, this is what we're seeing, and that's what we're responding to.

Brian Lehrer: New York is a city of immigrants to the eternal benefit of our city economy, as well as its culture. You're in this job because you welcome immigrants, and are committed to policies to support them. Why resist Governor Abbott, and the majority of the arrivals who presumably do want to be here compared to Texas? Why not say, "Hey, Texas, your loss is our gain." It's not cruel to send immigrants to New York, it's a favor to them, and to the people already living here too.

Manuel Castro: Yes, Brian, that's an important thing to clarify. We're actually embracing this, and welcoming immigrants and asylum seekers with open arms. It's important to say that we are not blaming asylum seekers or newly-arrived immigrants for any issues with our shelter system, or with any other resources. We're actually doing everything we can to welcome them and assist them. For those folks who want to be in New York City who are arriving, we're making sure they're connected to resources.

In New York City, they are eligible for benefits the moment they arrive. They are able to access our healthcare system, our school system. We're very proud of our history and our status as the city of immigrants. Mayor Eric Adams has said it himself, the moment you step foot in New York City, you're a New Yorker, we have your back, we're going to support you, which is why we have policies that do not ask for immigration status for immigrants who are wanting to seek any city service.

We are not putting this on asylum seekers. In fact, we're resisting Governor Abbott's actions because what he's doing is trying to comment anti-immigrant sentiment amongst New Yorkers, but we're proud of our history as immigrant-welcoming city. 60% of population is either immigrants or children of the immigrants. Many of us have experienced the same things that immigrants are experiences.

I myself crossed the Mexican border with my mother when I was five years old, and I will never forget that experience, we'll never forget the days, months, and years that we were here for the first time in New York City, what it was like. I wish we would have been welcomed just like we are welcoming asylum seekers today, and especially the children. I want to repeat this, no one is blaming immigrants or the asylum seekers for anything that is happening, except for the realities that we need support from the federal government.

We believe we're going to receive that soon. We've had many conversations with Washington. We're in coordination with the state. They are appreciative of our response, and we're going to continue responding as we should. We want to be an example of how cities and municipalities should respond to the situation.

Brian Lehrer: There is another issue here in addition to everything we've been discussing so far. Governor Abbott acknowledges out loud what he's doing, but there's an article on Gothamist today that I'll read from because that's a part of our news organization that reflects this other skepticism. The headline is, "Mayor Adams' claims on asylum seekers in New York face skepticism." It says, "The mayor is facing skepticism himself, including claims the city is finger pointing at the Lone Star State and Abbott maybe overblown a distraction from the rising number of evictions, spurred by steeply rising rents in the post-pandemic era and a corresponding surge in the number of people filling shelters."

There's a quote here from the chief attorney of the civil practice at the Legal Aid Society, Adriene Holder, who says, "We've never seen any basis authored, any data to support the claims that the system is being overwhelmed by the asylum seekers." In fact, the New York City Council Speaker, Adrienne Adams, yesterday at that hearing that you testified at, echoed that. She said there's a lack of clarity on how this administration is quantifying how many asylum seekers are arriving in New York.

It's clear that the city shelter system has been under increased stress due to a range of factors, including the economic impact of the pandemic and the end of the eviction moratorium. Is this a distraction to any degree from the Adams' administration being unprepared for the homelessness that New York policies are creating?

Manuel Castro: Brian, like I said yesterday in the hearing, it's important for us to be able to assess the situation with asylum seekers because a lot of our legal service providers and other community organizations responding to the arrival of asylum seekers need resources and support. We're working closely with them and they can for themselves tell us and tell your listeners the amount of work that they're having to respond to because people are seeking support from them.

In fact, we are seeing lines out the door at 26 Federal Plaza because asylum seekers are showing up for their immigration check-in. There's many ways that we can verify the situation. In particular groups like Catholic Charities, who've been working on this issue not just in New York City but in Texas and other places that are welcoming asylum seekers and are supporting them. Now, yesterday we spoke a lot about data collection. I reminded our city council members that New York City has strict rules and practices around collecting data from immigrants.

We do not ask for immigration status if someone comes to our shelter system and that is something that we want to continue because we don't want people to not come to us if they need services because they're afraid of being asked for immigration status. It is a work in progress that we have to address. How to better assess and count the asylum seekers and others who are arriving and using our resources. We're committed to working closely with city council, our local leaders for them to have the information they need.

Again, today council member, Hanif, who is the chair of the Immigration Committee joined me here. She was here from five in the morning until very recently, and so far for herself, the kind of work that we're doing. I'm proud to be responding in such a way to this issue. I'm sure housing advocates and others will continue to do their work but we also have to pay attention about the impact this is having on those providers who are assisting immigrants, especially when it comes to legal services and in other issues that they're seeing on the ground.

Brian Lehrer: I know you got to go, it's been a long day for you already getting to Port Authority so early in the morning to greet these folks arriving from Texas but let me ask you one other thing real briefly. Can you explain an issue that you brought up yesterday that's very troubling, something about non-disclosure agreements with the bus companies bringing the asylum seekers here?

Manuel Castro: Yes. Brian, we know that Governor Abbott admitted to using this as really a weapon against cities that are welcoming foreign immigrants, and he's doing everything he can to be as disruptive as possible, including not allowing these bus companies to communicate with us so that we know when to expect asylum seekers and provide them the services that they need.

Luckily, we work closely with a number of nongovernmental agencies and organizations that are working closely with asylum seekers at the border and other places and we're getting this information and we'll continue to work with them, but it's unfortunate really that Governor Abbott has chosen to not give us this information so that we at least are able to give this medical attention and feed people as they arrive.

Again, this can only be described as an act of a coward person. It can only be done by someone who has no moral character, and we are proud of the way that we're responding. We're proud that everyone is rallying for asylum seekers and that New Yorkers will not take the bait. We will not be intimidated by the Governor and will continue to welcome asylum seekers and other new New Yorkers to our great city.

Brian Lehrer: New York City, Immigrant Affairs Commissioner, Manuel Castro. We really appreciate a few minutes in the midst of all this. Thank you very much.

Manuel Castro: Thank you so much, Brian.

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