The Salvation Army facilitated the rampant migration of refugees into New York City, funded their efforts with FEMA emergency cash and contributed to the Big Apple crisis.
Reports emerged this week that the charity helped migrants fly to New York, despite the asylum seekers already in the United States.
Assistance documentation printed by the organization was shared with X on Wednesday, showing that TSA airport staff received a note saying the migrants “must transit the country,” where they will await ICE check-ins.
The facilitation of the mass migration comes as more than 120,000 asylum seekers have flooded the state, a dynamic that has officials scrambling for solutions as Mayor Eric Adams warned that New York City will be “destroyed” by the crisis.
Salvation Army documents surfaced online this week, showing TSA airport staff received a note saying the migrants were to ‘transit the country,’ where they would await ICE check-ins
The account that shared the documents claims that a plane ticket (pictured) was purchased by the Salvation Army for a migrant to travel from California, ostensibly with a stopover in Denver
More than 120,000 migrants poured into New York City, with officials turning to landmark hotels including the Roosevelt Hotel (pictured) as temporary asylum shelters
Officials said the Roosevelt (pictured in August) had hundreds of people waiting for a shelter placement, with many forced to sleep rough as families get priority housing
Kimberly Carchipulla, front center, checks on her son Damien’s school on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in New York
The influx of migrants to New York has risen to about 600 people a day, more than double the intake the city saw a year ago.
They have been coming to New York City since April 2022, when the migrant crisis began in the Big Apple. Many of the migrants arrived via the southern US-Mexico border as President Joe Biden’s lax policies allowed a flood of illegal aliens into the country.
Some southern state governors — such as Greg Abbott in Texas and Ron DeSantis in Florida — have sent busloads of migrants to northern cities run by Democrats.
New York City officials have grown increasingly furious over the situation, with Adams this week calling for an end to the longstanding ‘right to shelter’ law as he warned ‘it’s very clear that the status quo cannot continue not.’
But while the escalating crisis has caught the ire of New Yorkers, the Salvation Army has not ended its effort to move more migrants into the city.
Images of the charity’s documents were posted to X by Viral News NYC, who claim they were shown the memo by a migrant who had just landed in the Big Apple from a flight bought by the Salvation Army.
The note, intended for TSA screeners, added that there “may be a US citizen accompanying the migrants ‘since this may be their first time in an airport.’
Further documents shared included other memos for airport staff, including one titled in bold: ‘I don’t speak English’.
Another included paperwork received from the Salvation Army showing the charity helped schedule shelter and court appearances for migrants once they were in New York.
Several documents were shared, with one intended for airport staff with the title in bold: ‘I don’t speak English’. Another included paperwork received from the Salvation Army showing the charity helped schedule shelter and court appearances for migrants once they were in New York
Hundreds of refugees slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel in August when the historic establishment was turned into a migrant camp.
Many migrants cross difficult conditions on their way to the US-Mexico border, hoping to land in sanctuary cities like New York
Dramatic photos show the moment migrants cross the Rio Grande River from Piedras Negras, Mexico to Eagle Pass, Texas – which has become the epicenter of border crossings in recent times
In a statement to DailyMail.com, the Salvation Army acknowledged their role in the migrant crisis and said their funding of the flights comes from FEMA taxpayer provision.
“At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The Salvation Army provides services to migrants who have been released into the country by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said David Jolley, Director of Communications at The Salvation Army USA.
‘The services are fully funded by federal dollars as part of FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
‘Our EFSP-funded services vary according to teaching and need, but may include facilitating travel arrangements for migrants to other parts of the country where they claim to have family.
‘We provide these services as part of our calling to meet human needs in the name of Jesus Christ without discrimination.’
The charity’s assistance comes amid fierce opposition to the migrant crisis from city officials, with Adams’s fight contrasting with his previous public post where only a year ago he claimed he was “proud” that New York is the take in influx.
He added at the time that the city “will continue to do this,” but his deputy mayor, Anne Williams-Isom, told disgruntled New Yorkers on Wednesday that there was no sign of this slowing despite mounting backlash.
‘We have seen a significant increase in arrivals in recent days,’ she said during an information session in the town hall about the situation.
‘This is a very frustrating moment for all New Yorkers as we have responded to this crisis, managed the influx – and here we are again seeing increases in arrival numbers.’
Migrants flock to New York City and line up to enter Federal Plaza to submit to immigration services on October 2.
Adams is seen on Thursday in the city of Puebla, 100 miles south of Mexico City, as he continues his tour focusing on migration.
With officials still searching for answers and pleading with migrants to stop flooding into the city, Adams took a much-publicized trip south of the border this week to discourage asylum seekers from choosing New York when entering the U.S. .
The mayor arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday night to begin a controversial visit, declaring that he feels at home in the region because there are already so many Mexicans living in New York City.
Critics said it was a self-aggrandizing publicity tour and a waste of money — arguing that he should instead be in Washington DC and Albany asking for more federal and state support.
On Thursday, Adams traveled to the city of Puebla, 100 miles south of Mexico City, to meet with local leaders.