State Is Allowing Migrants to Bypass Mandatory Vaccinations

(USNewsMag.com) – New York City is allowing migrant youth who are housed in temporary shelters to enroll in the public school system before receiving the usual vaccinations citizens are required to have.

During a Wednesday press conference, city officials said that once migrants are enrolled in school, there will be a specific timeframe for them to be vaccinated afterward.

According to David Banks, the Chancellor of NYC Schools, approximately 19,000 migrant minors who live in temporary housing from the city have enrolled in New York City schools. Banks said there’s “room for the students” and didn’t seem concerned about accommodating them despite the fact that there’s a teacher shortage in cities around the country.

According to the NY Department of Education, students between the ages of 2 months and 18 years old are typically required to be vaccinated for various diseases before being allowed to enroll in childcare, public school, or private school. The department also said that New York no longer allows religious exemptions from mandatory vaccinations, although some situations will permit a child to attend school if vaccinated with the first dose of a multiple dose requirement.

Banks said some schools have “gotten almost more than their fair share” of migrant students, which is partly “driven by where the temporary housing is” and so his department is working “really hard to try and mitigate” the burden.

Over the last 15 months, more than 100,000 migrants have passed through the Big Apple, with perhaps around 60,000 remaining in the city’s care, a third of whom are children. New Yorkers are growing concerned with the continuing surge that’s putting a strain on city resources and recent polls show they’re fed up with it and with local Democratic politicians.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul believes the problem can be solved by speeding up the process of approving the new arrivals for work permits so the city doesn’t have to keep footing the bill to house them, feed them, and provide social services.