By Ryan Schwach
A recently released report from immigration non-profit Make the Road New York, surveyed nearly 800 of the approximately 70,000 recently arrived migrants about what resources they say they need the most, with the majority saying they can’t afford legal fees to actually obtain asylum or find work.
The report, titled “Displaced and Disconnected,” surveyed 766 recently arrived migrants in the city, 95 percent of which are currently living in shelters, and 65 percent of which are Venezuelan.
Around 95 percent of the respondents said they intend to legally seek asylum in the United States, and 93 percent cannot currently afford to move out of the shelters where they currently reside.
“What we saw was people coming looking for a better quality of life,” said Natalia Aristizabal Betancur, the executive director of Make the Road New York.
According to the report, the majority of the migrants surveyed have had a difficult time getting up on their feet since arriving in New York City, because they cannot afford the legal fees which are needed in order to actually apply for asylum. Without being able to send that application, they are unable to acquire work authorization to move out of a shelter, they said.
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