New York plans to close 25 migrant shelters as numbers down

NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- New York City plans to shut 25 migrant shelters after the number of asylum seekers being housed fell to the lowest point in more than a year.

Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that the shelters, including the controversial facility at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, will be shut by March. As of Oct. 31, there were 212 migrant shelters in the city and elsewhere in the state housing 59,030 people.

"We're going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response," Adams said in a statement.

"The move comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office after a campaign in which he vowed to order mass deportations of undocumented immigrants," reported Bloomberg News about the move.

While Adams has been critical of Trump's plans, he said after the election that he would be open to collaborating with the president-elect on deporting repeat offenders of violent acts.