Department of Justice opens criminal investigation into New York City migrant shelters, reports say

New York City’s migrant shelter operation is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which is looking into the management and funding of the hotels that helped house the influx of hundreds of thousands of foreign migrants since 2022, according to published reports.

Quoting a copy of a subpoena received by the Hotel Chandler seeking “a list of full names of aliens currently residing at Hotel Chandler,” The New York Times said that prosecutors also asked for dates of birth, nationality and identification numbers. That subpoena invoked “an alleged violation” of federal immigration law and demanded information about those who have been in charge of “funding and management of the illegal immigrant/migrant shelter program,” along with related agreements or contracts, The Times reported.

The investigation marks an escalation by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, who had railed against so-called sanctuary cities and promised to execute the nation’s biggest-ever deportation operation.

Since spring 2022, more than 230,000 foreign migrants have arrived in New York City, a majority of whom were housed in shelters, hotels and tents under the city’s only-in-the-nation right-to-shelter mandate.

Asked about the subpoena, Adams spokesman Fabien Levi texted: “We cannot comment on federal investigations.”

Last month, the Trump administration clawed $80.5 million from the city’s bank account of money that had been approved by Congress to reimburse the city for migrant sheltering costs. Newsday reported last year data the immigrants themselves provided could be used to help carry out deportation.