Forget about Latinos being the largest influx of migrants into NYC. An increasing proportion of migrants living in New York City now come from Africa, Asia, and Europe, according to a study of immigration court statistics by Gothamist.
As recently as three years ago, the bulk of cases in NYC’s immigration courts included asylum seekers from Central and South America. However, immigration court files received by Syracuse University apparently shows that it is not the case anymore.
Immigration experts told Gothamist that the developments in New York City are a reflection of the increasing diversity of migrants who are crossing the border between the United States and Mexico as a result of escalating political and economic pressures – as well as news that more asylum-seekers are being allowed entrance.
Some of the largest and fastest-growing immigrant groups in New York City are coming to the city mostly on their own and avoiding the city’s overburdened shelter network. These groups include people from China, India, and Uzbekistan.
Although an increasing percentage of migrants is also moving to other boroughs, Queens, a historic hub for immigrants, continues to be the leading destination for new arrivals in the city. Manhattan’s percentage of migrants listing addresses in New York City also tripled between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, from 5% to 15%. In the same period, the percentage in the Bronx increased from 12% to 17%.
There has also been a significant surge in the number of new arrivals with addresses in suburban and upstate counties, including Rockland County, where local authorities have prohibited New York City from turning hotels into shelters for migrants. One of the biggest spikes was in Niagara County, along the border between the United States and Canada; the area went from having around four migrants reporting addresses there in fiscal year 2021 to 125 in 2023.
Based on available statistics, the increasing number of Africans with new local cases is mostly being caused by a migration wave from Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea. The surge in Asian immigration is instead being driven by migrants from China, India, and the central and western Asian nations of Georgia and Uzbekistan.
Other significant influxes came from Russia and Haiti, while there is a growing migrant population from Central and South American nations like as Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Colombia.
In 2023, Chinese, Uzbek, and Senegalese immigrants filed more over half of all new immigration court cases in New York City. When combined, they rank among the top 20 migrant nationalities in the nation.
Notably, the majority of migrants detained at the border between the United States and Mexico in fiscal year 2022 originated from areas far away from Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. “They have realized that if you reach the southern border, and you apply for asylum, you will be let in,” Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute explained. “That then creates the magnet.”
