City + State – But for those facing shelter limits who don’t manage to find alternative housing options, advocates and some lawmakers have said the stay limits will result in people being unnecessarily shuffled around, disrupting children’s lives and schooling in particular.

At a City Council hearing on legal services for asylum-seekers on Wednesday, Council Member Shahana Hanif, chair of the Committee on Immigration, suggested that the policies will also complicate the process of applying for asylum, as asylum-seekers will have to file changes of address with every new shelter placement in order to receive crucial notices on their status and applications from the federal government.

Ensuring that newly arrived asylum-seekers are receiving court notices at the right address has been a challenge since the influx of migrants began last spring. And with many asylum-seekers required to submit their asylum applications via mail, rather than online, having a reliable address to receive updates on their applications, and other notices from the federal government, is crucial. [Read More]