The state is helping New York City Mayor Eric Adams identify sites that will welcome migrants as the five boroughs struggle to house a surge of arrivals, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. 

In an interview with Spectrum News’ Kevin Frey in Washington, D.C., Hochul called the ongoing influx of migrants into the city a “desperate situation.”

The governor was in the Capitol meeting with New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, and other members of the New York Congressional delegation to advocate for resources the state needs to address the crisis. 

“The city has done an incredible job trying to find places to house them, but they are at capacity,” Hochul said. “So we’re helping [Adams] find places that will be welcoming.” 

Officials are eyeing sites ranging from campuses to “shuttered psychiatric facilities” to meet the growing demand for housing, she said.

“There are welcoming counties out there,” she said. “It just, sometimes you identify a community that wants them, but you have to find the hotel to stay, and a lot of other communities have homelessness problems.” 

“And that’s some of the challenges that mayors are saying, we want to help. But they have their own problems as well,” she added. 

Hochul’s remarks came a day after Orange County secured a temporary restraining order barring New York City from sending more migrants to the area. Rockland County has also been fighting the city’s plan to bus migrants into the region. 

Asked about her meeting with members of the Congressional delegation, Hochul said they were “very interested” in helping the state secure funding to mitigate the crisis. 

New York recently committed $1 billion to address the crisis and will “probably go higher,” but the state still needs additional funding, she said. Hochul also renewed her call for expedited work approval for migrants living in the state. 

“I want to make sure the Democrats, Republicans, everyone understands the challenges we’re facing right now,” she said. 

“Republicans in Congress, in charge of the House, have the ability to allocate more money. Why don’t you match what New York state did? Give us a billion dollars for New York,” she said. “Help us with the money, help us with the work authorization. And then we’ll get through this much sooner.”

Hochul on Wednesday also addressed comments made Tuesday night by Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who called on the governor to pardon the man charged with manslaughter for fatally choking Jordan Neely on the subway on May 1. 

“Well, I would think a former governor would know how a pardon works. It works after someone’s been convicted of a crime,” Hochul said. “You don’t pardon after there’s just been an indictment, number one. So, wrong on that front.”

“Secondly, let the process play out. The district attorney indicted after serious deliberation, looking at the facts, witnesses, the video,” she added. “And my view is that this individual who was killed on the subway had mental health challenges and deserved to walk off that subway alive.” 

Haley responded in a statement, saying in part, "Governors are supposed to protect their people. She can send a message to criminals by announcing her intent to pardon Daniel Penny."