NYC residents face consequences of ‘Sanctuary City’ status as mayor suggests housing illegal immigrants in private homes.

NYC Mayor Floats Housing Illegal Immigrants in Private Residences

Maybe this will get liberals rethinking that whole “sanctuary city” business.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has kicked off a social media storm by floating the idea of private homes being used to house the thousands of illegal immigrants making their way, uninvited, into the United States — and into the Big Apple.

And he’s pushing it as serving the good of his city’s homeowners who might have “spare rooms.”

“There are residents who are suffering right now because of economic challenges,” Adams said at a news conference Monday, according to the New York Post.

“They have spare rooms. They have locales.”

NYC Mayor Eric Adams wants to house illegal immigrants in “faith based locales” and “private residence[s].” pic.twitter.com/AL2Tay0y6t

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2023

Mockery and Protest

Seriously. This is the mayor of the same city that was sued just last week by the short-term rental behemoth Airbnb over an ordinance that the company argues is a “de facto ban against short-term rentals in New York,” according to Reuters.

But to Adams, and liberals like him, that’s different, apparently. Airbnb helps to pay customers who are interested in visiting a given location to connect with those who have space to rent. That’s a healthy, private-sector economic relationship that satisfies the free-market principle of supply meeting demand.

Adams’ proposal, on the other hand, involves emphatically non-paying customers — like the 46,000 “asylum seekers” currently flooding New York City, according to the Post — getting a room and a bed courtesy of American taxpayers. The fact that Adams sugarcoats it as some kind of way to put money into the pockets of New Yorkers doesn’t change the fact that it’s an obscenely unhealthy, quasi-socialist distortion version of the short-term rental business his administration despises.

It’s the latest sign that Adams is drowning in his own policies. And it’s an admission that New York and other Democratic-run jurisdictions that love bragging about being “sanctuary” cities can’t live up to the demands of actually being “sanctuary” cities. No place can. The world is full of billions of human beings who would love nothing more than a berth in the United States.

(Maybe Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her constituents will be happy to host them, but most normal people prefer to select their own roommates.)

The idea drew a hail of mockery and protest — that doesn’t even begin to cover its stupidity.

• That sounds like a terrific idea. It will really allow New Yorkers to live up to the ideals of the whole “sanctuary city” idea. Who has an extra bedroom to share?

  — John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) June 5, 2023

• This is an outstanding gesture.
  I’m certain the fine people of NYC and the suburbs would love 30-40k new roommates.
  I applaud the mayor

  — Andrew Glashow (@GlashowAndrew) June 5, 2023

• Yes great idea!!! Hamptons would be perfect place and Park and 5 ave.

  — Irina Levine (@IrinaLevine27) June 5, 2023

• Wow. Unfreakingbelievable.

  — Happy Floridian (@HappyFloridian2) June 5, 2023

• This is what socialism looks like

  — James Bradley (@JamesBradleyCA) June 5, 2023

In its article, the Post called the proposal “half-baked,” which is putting it charitably. “Panicked” is probably a better adjective — the idea of a man and an administration who’s realizing that when the consequences of progressive politics are building up in unpleasant, unmanageable reality, leftist talk is worse than cheap.

Questions abound: How much would the owners of a private residence be paid for renting “spare rooms” to the