It would be fair to argue that the title of this article could have been shortened considerably because pretty much all of New York City is overwhelmed by migrants now. Even the Mayor and the Governor have admitted as much and asked people arriving at the southern border to go elsewhere. (They’re ignoring that request so far.) But the city’s hospitals have been hit particularly hard. It’s nearly as difficult to find an empty hospital bed now as it was at the height of the pandemic. Many of the migrants arrive with or develop serious medical issues. And the vast majority of them have no jobs or money, they have no insurance, and they have no accessible medical records. This is placing a huge strain on the city’s hospitals and sucking up resources that legal residents still require. (NBC News)

In the past year alone, medical centers across the five boroughs have received nearly 30,000 visits from undocumented migrants seeking medical care, according to data from New York City Health + Hospitals, which operates the city’s public hospitals and clinics. About 300 new babies have been born to migrant moms during that period, most at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, which has seen one-quarter of the overall migrant visits.

“This has been the hardest work I’ve ever done,” said Dr. Ted Long, a senior vice president for New York City Health + Hospitals who helps oversee the city’s health response to the migrants.

“But it’s been the most impactful work that I’ve ever done,” added Long, who also holds a weekly clinic for patients at Bellevue in need of primary care.

New York is a big city with multiple hospitals and a sizable public medical system, but those facilities were already busy enough taking care of the legal population of residents. You can’t simply dump another 30,000 patients into the mix without causing serious issues. Also, many people, particularly those in lower-income neighborhoods receive care at public clinics that are at least partially funded by the taxpayers. Those clinics are also overwhelmed, with many of the migrants reportedly being treated on an emergency basis while residents sit through long waiting periods for an appointment.

Legal services are also being strained to the limit. One legal clinic at Bellevue Hospital offers free legal help to anyone who is referred by a medical provider. The director of the clinic told NBC News that now almost all of the people she serves are illegal migrants seeking work permits or help obtaining housing. The waiting list for regular clients has grown disproportionately.

The entire system is overwhelmed. Whether you’re talking about housing, food, clothing, medical care, or anything else, the migrants are sucking all of the resources out of the city. And the taxpayers are footing the bill for all of it, either directly or indirectly. Few have the heart to say no to the migrants because Americans tend to be charitable people who want to help if they’re able. But this has long since passed the point of ridiculousness.

Somebody needs to grow a spine and do the job that Joe Biden refuses to do. The vast majority of these migrants are not eligible for asylum and the government knows it. They have no legal entitlement to simply show up here illegally and demand limitless free resources. Every one of them who doesn’t qualify for asylum needs to be rounded up and put on buses, planes, and ships and sent back to where they came from. And we need to shut off the southern border in a serious way. If Biden won’t do it, he needs to let Greg Abbott do it and stop fighting him in court every time he begins making some progress. And this can’t wait until Joe Biden is (hopefully) replaced as President. The crisis is real and it’s upon us today. Something needs to be done.