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Migrants arrive at controversial tent shelter

Asylum-seekers camping at El Chaparral crossing port line up to be vaccinated against COVID-19 last month in Tijuana, Mexico, on the border with the U.S.
Guillermo Arias
/
AFP via Getty Images
Asylum-seekers camping at El Chaparral crossing port line up to be vaccinated against COVID-19 last month in Tijuana, Mexico, on the border with the U.S.

Migrants are arriving this week at a controversial shelter that's been setup at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn as New York City continues to scramble for more asylum seeker shelter space.

Around 500 migrant families will be staying at a federally owned airfield in Brooklyn. The City's OEM Commissioner Zach Ischol says officials have set up cots and cribs inside several giant tents.

"We are very grateful to the governor and the to the White House for giving us this piece of land. It's not ideal."

The Legal Aid Society is against use of the facility because there's no ceilings, creating a security concern among other concerns. There's also fire related safety issues. Ischol admits the Adams Administration is working with the Fire Department to address their concerns.