Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul calls in National Guard amid New York's worsening migrant crisis

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday she is calling in the National Guard to assist in the ongoing migrant criss.

Hochul announced an additional 150 National Guard members will be deployed to address the migrant crisis and help with case management to get asylum seekers work permits – particularly Venezuelans who now qualify for temporary protected status.

The additional 150 members bring the total number of National Guardsmen supporting the mission to 2,200. The governor said 250 National Guard members will focus solely on case management to help the Venezuelans who came before July 31 to apply for Temporary Protected Status – and then work authorization.

"Now that we have the opportunity granted by President Biden to help the Venezuelans who came before July 31st be able to apply for temporary protective status and what follow that literally with the same application, is the work authorization -- that coveted work authorization. That's their ticket to the American Dream," she said.

"You'll be helping them get a job, helping them support themselves, helping them leave these shelters, because I believe they did not come all these thousands of miles to live in a shelter with hundreds, if not thousands of others," Hochul said. "So the National Guard has already been working to survey them. We have different categories. Some people are eligible to work right now if they already came in through the Customs and Border Protection app. There are people qualified for that. There are parolees eligible to work. There are the asylum seekers who need to apply for asylum and wait 180 days. And now we have this new category that allow the expedited work permits for Venezuelans who arrived here earlier."

The governor said that some of the migrants who've arrived in New York City "may be here and just want a bus ticket to another state, but they don't know where to go."

"We can make that happen," she said. "But you have to have those conversations."

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