NYC to install metal detectors at migrant shelters

New York City will install metal detectors in migrant shelters due to increased insecurity. The measure was announced by Mayor Eric Adams.

According to Fox 5 NY, a metal detector is already being installed at the entrance to the immigrant shelter on Randall's Island. The mayor has made plans to visit the shelter since a fight was reported this week.

"You place 1,000 people in one setting and tell them they can't work, all they can do is sit around all day, tempers flare," Adams said in a statement reported by the media outlet.

This measure is one of several that the Democratic mayor is taking due to the border crisis generated by his progressive immigration policies that turned New York into a sanctuary city. Due to insecurity which has been on the rise due to the increase in asylum seekers, New York City also decided last month to expand the number of migrant shelters under curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. There are 20 shelters that will be applying this policy.

"Prioritize the safety of New Yorkers"

The decision to establish a curfew and, now, install metal detectors comes at a time when robberies and fights have multiplied. For example, the curfew extension was imposed after a 15-year-old Venezuelan boy opened fire downtown over the weekend while trying to flee from a store he was robbing. A Brazilian tourist was wounded by a gunshot while the boy tried to flee.

"New York City continues to lead the nation in managing this national humanitarian crisis, and that includes prioritizing the health and safety of both asylum seekers in our care and New Yorkers who live in the communities surrounding the emergency shelters we manage," City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said in a statement sent by email to Associated Press.