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New York City Has Taken in 4 Syrian Refugees and is Ready for More: Mayor

By Jeff Mays | November 19, 2015 8:29am
 Mayor Bill de Blasio holding a picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian boy found drowned on a Turkish beach after his family tried to escape the conflict that has sent 4 million others out of the country. De Blasio then blasted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for his remarks on Syria.
Mayor Bill de Blasio holding a picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian boy found drowned on a Turkish beach after his family tried to escape the conflict that has sent 4 million others out of the country. De Blasio then blasted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for his remarks on Syria.
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DNAinfo/Jeff Mays

TIMES SQUARE — The city is prepared to accept more Syrian refugees, although only four have been settled here so far, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

"I am satisfied that we are ready to support victims of one of the worst humanitarian crises of our generation. That is the right thing to do morally," said de Blasio. "But it will take time and it will be a very, very deliberative process."

De Blasio made his comments at a press conference where he announced a plan to provide 15,000 units of supportive housing for New York City's homeless population. 

Asked how many refugees the city was willing to accept and how they would be supported, the mayor said there would be help with those logistics. The city initially said it had so far welcomed eight Syrian refugees, but later clarified it was only four.

"(W)hen refugees come here, they come under a specific sponsorship plan of one kind or another. They don’t just show up on our doorstep." de Blasio said.

"There are sponsoring organizations and individuals. And that means identifying ways to support them upon their arrival. So this is something that has to be done deliberatively and carefully, but it can be done," he added.

The mayor said the effort would be "very different than the efforts we make to take care of our own people in need, like what we’re describing today."

De Blasio's comments come as the country is debating whether to continue with President Barack Obama's plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees. It remains unclear if one of the perpetrators of Friday's Paris attacks, which saw 129 people killed and hundreds more injured, may have had a Syrian passport.

According to a Bloomberg poll, 53 percent of U.S. adults don't believe the government should continue with plans to settle Syrian refugees.

"I find it absolutely hypocritical for anyone to say, let us shut our borders to people who are victims of violence, the innocent people who are fleeing a humanitarian crisis. That is un-American," the mayor said.

The mayor specifically criticized New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a GOP presidential candidate who has said the country shouldn't even accept 5-year-old Syrian orphans, for perpetuating that attitude.

"This is a nation of immigrants, and we are sitting here in the city that has the Statue of Liberty in it, that is the epitome of welcoming immigrants over generations," de Blasio said.

De Blasio then pulled out a picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian boy found drowned on a Turkish beach after his family tried to escape the conflict that has sent 4 million others out of the country.

"I’d like to know what Gov. Christie says about this — this is the cost of not bringing in people who are innocent victims of an humanitarian crisis," de Blasio said.

"Is this what he wants to see happen to people? Is this what he wants to see happen to children? We don’t accept that here in New York City," the mayor continued.

Christie responded to de Blasio's criticisms in a tweet Tuesday:

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Though the city initially said there were eight refugees living in New York City, they later amended that number to four. They blamed the mix-up on federal authorities.