Migrants fight plan to move them from hotel to ‘inhumane’ Brooklyn shelter

Some migrants refuse to leave Manhattan hotel

A group of migrants is refusing to leave a Hell’s Kitchen hotel for a shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, saying that the shelter is ‘inhumane’.

NEW YORK – Tensions are flaring over New York City's plan to move migrants from a hotel in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

The migrants are currently living in tents outside the Watson Hotel in Hell's Kitchen, and are demanding to be let back inside.

When buses showed up Sunday to take the single, adult men to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, some refused to get on. 

Police officers wait nearby as migrants camp out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted on January 30, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty Images)

"The first bus of migrants that went to the cruise terminal, saw the conditions and immediately turned around and warned the others not to get on those buses," said Sergio Tupac Uzurin of NYC ICE Watch.

City Hall had begun moving the men this weekend in order to allow room for families with children to move in, but things became tense, with immigration advocates telling the migrants not to go.

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Migrants who visited the shelter said that the conditions there are inhumane, with no heat, beds too close together, no place to put their belongings, limited food, and only four bathrooms.

Migrants camp out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted on January 30, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty Images) Expand

The men say they don't want or need luxury, but a dignified place to live in. 

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal has been set up to house 1,000 men.

"The facilities at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will provide the same services as every other humanitarian relief center in the city," the Mayor's Office said in a statement.