Poll: 82% say migrant influx 'serious,' give Hochul, Adams low marks

ALBANY — An overwhelming share of New York voters believe the recent influx of migrants to the state is a “serious problem” and a majority say the state should slow down the flow, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The Siena Research Institute survey also says a slight majority of voters (50% to 40%) supports the idea of moving migrants from temporary quarters in New York City to permanent housing in communities around the state.

But voters are giving Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams low marks for handling the migrant situation. Hochul received her lowest job approval rating in a Siena poll since becoming governor in August 2021.

More than 100,000 migrants over the last year and a half from various parts of the globe, with some sent north on buses by Republican officials in Texas. Many have come from Venezuela, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The city housed some migrants in homeless shelters, tent shelters and hotels. But as the influx continued, Adams sought to bus some upstate. The mayor and Hochul, who have had a cordial relationship, traded scathing letters about government responsibilities last week.

So far, their efforts aren’t playing well in public opinion.

Siena said 82% of those surveyed said the influx of migrants was either a “serious” or “very serious” problem for the state. Just 16% said either “not very serious” or “not at all” serious.

Even in a state as liberal as New York, 77% of Democrats said it was a serious problem.

In a separate question, 58% agreed with the statement that New York has done enough and now should slow the flow of migrants to the state. Just 36% agreed with the second option of the question: “New Yorkers should accept new migrants and work to assimilate them in New York.”

“However, that’s where partisan agreement ends,” Steve Greenberg, Siena spokesman, said about the two broad questions. Further digging reveals some differences.

“A plurality of Democrats say that migrants resettling in New York over the last two decades has been a benefit. But a majority of independents and two-thirds of Republicans say that migrant resettlement has been a burden to the state,” Greenberg said in a statement.

Voters disapprove of the job Adams is doing to address the issue, 47% to 31%. Similarly, they disapprove of Hochul’s efforts, 51% to 35%.

Siena said votes are split on Hochul’s overall job approval rating — 46% to 46%. But that’s down notably from January when 56% gave her a favorable rating and 36% an unfavorable one.

Siena surveyed 803 registered New York voters from Aug. 13-16; 503 from either a land line telephone or cellphone and 300 from an online panel. Data was weighted to ensure statewide representativeness. The poll has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, meaning the answers to each question could vary by that much.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy