To make room for illegal migrants being bused to the region from New York City, upstate New York hotels began kicking homeless veterans from their properties. These homeless veterans were receiving temporary shelter in the hotels through the efforts of a nonprofit agency. Reportedly many were Vietnam-era veterans and all are combat veterans.
Nearly two dozen homeless veterans “have been booted from the upstate hotels to make room for migrants.”, including one a 24-year-old Afghanistan war veteran. These national servants are being told, that their temporary housing is being pulled out from under them, and they would have to move somewhere else, according to a report by the New York Post.
The outlet further reported that Yerik Israel Toney Foundations, CEO, Sharon Toney-Finch, stated that
“Our veterans have been placed in another hotel due to what’s going on with the immigrants.” and “A lot of them are Vietnam veterans. We do help them on a constant basis to get them benefits and help them find a place in society,” she explained, adding, “Now we have to work from ground zero. We just lost that trust [with the vets].”
-Sharon Toney-Finch, Yerik Israel Toney Foundations, CEO
The veterans from the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, New York, were moved to other nearby motels and hotels, located about 20 minutes from where they were displaced. Reportedly, the veterans had been placed in the first hotel under a four-week temporary housing program, while the nonprofit agency attempted to find another solution for their housing needs. It was reportedly about two weeks into the program, when their housing was pulled from them by the hotel management.
Now the target of a busing campaign of illegal migrants, by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Orange County, New York, is now said to be absorbing the migrant overflow. Literally, Mayor Adams is moving the migrants out of his sanctuary city to Upstate New York to relieve migrant overcrowding.
Effectively, these illegal migrants are boarded on buses in New York City and driven to their destination in upstate New York. It is not clear what the city is paying for the housing of the bused migrants from New York City, however, according to the outlet, Tooney-Finch said the hotel to expelled the veterans for better money.
“They get paid more [for the migrants],” adding “That’s so unfair, because at the end of the day, we are a small nonprofit, and we do pay $88 a day for a veteran to be there.”
--Sharon Toney-Finch, Yerik Israel Toney (YIT) Foundations, CEO
Several elected officials weighed in on the gravity of the plight of these veterans-
That these hotels would be so disrespectful to the work of this small non-profit is reprehensible. These veterans need advocacy that works and is not hindered from helping them. These national servants need support not supplanting by those who are in this country illegally.
Further that these hotels would give homeless veterans their walking papers to go elsewhere, for more money makes their actions heinous. These veterans need respect, dignity and the support of the communities they have come to and not treatment that is thwarted by vast numbers of illegal migrants. This kind of inexcusable neglect should never happen to Americans who have given their lives in service to this country.
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
-John F. Kennedy