On May 11, Tioga County’s Legislature, by order of its Chair, Martha Sauerbrey, put into place a State of Emergency in response to the possible arrival of migrants or asylum seekers due to the national immigration crisis and the plans involving the relocation of migrants from New York City to other counties outside of New York City.
Since the initial declaration was signed, at 4 p.m. on May 11, there have been questions and varied opinions, some being rendered on social media.
If one reads the declaration, which is attached with each post on www.owegopennysaver.com, it describes the prohibitions outlined and the violations and penalties for not adhering to the order.
Section 1, Part A of the order disallows municipalities from entering into contracts with persons, businesses or entities doing business within the County to transport migrants or asylum seekers to locations within the county for any length without permission from the county.
The declaration further outlined, as a remedy, appearance tickets from the Tioga County Sheriff for a violation of this Emergency Order, as well as civil penalties of not more than $2,000 per migrant or asylum seeker housed by the foreign municipality or other violator.
This Emergency Order has now been extended three times, once on May 15, again on May 19, and an additional extension that arrived Thursday. The current order is expected to retire on May 30, 2023.
With a recent Point-In-Time Homeless Count conducted back in January, an effort led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and used to estimate the number of both sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness, it was evident that affordable housing, and housing for lower-income individuals is desperately need in Tioga County. Local hotels and motels already shelter individuals, and during the PIT Count volunteers received information from law enforcement that there were some residential areas with questionable living arrangements.
One specific apartment had eight co-habitating adults that night, according to the article, which can be found at http://www.owegopennysaver.com/PS/2023/02/06/homelessness-in-tioga-county-new-york/, as well as the possibility of squatters in nearby foreclosed properties. These are individuals that had been spotted in temporary camps or some other makeshift shelter earlier that week.
In an effort to streamline those arriving that need housing, the county states that it needs to be proactive, ensuring that those that do arrive have adequate shelter, food, and clothing.
Sauerbrey, in a statement on Wednesday, stated that the county is concerned about what services they will need to provide. Other questions surround immunization requirements, if they have working papers, and a support system. They also need to know how the county will be notified when a large group of migrants and asylum seekers is expected to arrive.
Sauerbrey stated, “New York City is supposed to notify the county that migrants will be arriving, but we have learned that is not necessarily the case.”
“By law we are required to provide services, and a big question is what services would they need,” said Sauerbrey, adding, “We have been struggling to hire people in our Social Services Department and we have our hands full taking care of our Tioga County Citizens already, so we need to make sure we don’t end up in a worsening crisis.”
“Currently we are down 30% in employment,” Sauerbrey added, and acknowledged this is a humanitarian crisis impacting real people. But she also said that the facilities, manpower and money simply don’t exist to provide aid at the moment.
According to an official statement from Tioga County Department of Social Services following the PIT Count, there were a total of 109 adults and 17 children sheltered in 2022. That number was expected to increase.
The annual PIT count also had a strong emphasis on identifying veterans. According to Michael Middaugh, director of the Tioga County Veterans’ Service Agency, there aren’t any safe options for veterans who need assistance with housing.
“They don’t want to have to pack up and go to another county, and they don’t consider shelters as a safe option”, Middaugh stated in a previous article, and added, “Many veterans have dogs, not as certified working animals, but as emotional support pets. Shelters won’t let them in. So, these individuals end up sleeping in their cars.”
Tioga County frequently transports individuals and families to other counties if there is another shelter that has an opening for their specific situation.
And this method of transporting people to shelters and housing arrangements across county borders works both ways.
Again, the State of Emergency puts control in the hands of the county leaders to monitor the amount of housing stock available, and the dollars available to house them. State Aid is still hanging in the wings, and talks of budget cuts to the county’s Medicaid are still coming out of Albany.
To view the emergency declaration in full, check it out below or visit https://www.tiogacountyny.com/.
As the President of the New York State Association Of Counties (NYSAC), Sauerbrey also shared that other New York counties have also declared a State of Emergency surrounding the migrant and asylum seeker issue. Joining Tioga County are Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Herkimer, Madison, Niagara, New York County, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schuyler, St. Lawrence, Sullivan, and Wyoming.
Cattaraugus county can’t afford any immigrants coming in people here can’t get jobs already and there are plenty of homeless.
TO ALL THE IDIOTS WHO SAY, LET THE IMMIGRANTS, aka ILLEGALS, STAY: YOU take them in, at the very least and support them with YOUR money. My money is made by working hard and I refuse to give one dime to any of these ILLEGAL. What don’t you people get? THEY broke the law coming over the border, THEY ARE HERE ILLEGALLS!