NEW YORK (CMC) – Immigration advocates and legislators have called on a New York county to support Caribbean and other asylum seekers after a judge granted Orange County a preliminary injunction that stops New York City from sending asylum seekers to hotels in the county without getting a court order.

New York State Judge Sandra Sciortino also mandated that New York City continue to pay for services for the 186 asylum seekers, including Cubans, Haitians and Venezuelans, who are already staying at two hotels in Newburgh, a city north of New York City.

“It is time for Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus to stop fueling dangerous and hateful rhetoric that reinforces inaccurate portraits of vulnerable people who are simply pursuing their legal right to claim asylum,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organisation that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York.

He told the Caribbean Media Corporation that with declining populations and the economic hardships from the pandemic still plaguing many upstate regions, this is a perfect time for Neuhaus to start focusing on the opportunities being offered to local small businesses and hotels with New York City footing the bill for new arrivals.

“Instead of infringing on the rights of business owners, we need to be working toward solutions that build our communities and our economy for all of us,” he said, adding “We are calling on Orange County to stop playing politics with people’s lives.”

Orange County legislator Genesis Ramos said it’s extremely disappointing to see how County Executive Neuhaus continues to handle the situation with asylum seekers.

“The recent injunction against the executive orders that were deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory should have been a wake-up call for him to take a collaborative approach and find real solutions. Instead, he seems to be more interested in pandering to his base and engaging in political theatre,” he added.

City of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey said he hoped “our County Executive and elected officials use the same meticulous effort to achieve a temporary injunction to stop asylum seekers from coming to Orange County in petitioning our state and federal elected officials to create a comprehensive immigration reform law.”