Hundreds of migrants line up in NYC for free healthcare and resources [Video]

• The New York City hospital system organized a “resource and family fun day” for migrants and their children.
• Event co-sponsors provided free healthcare coverage, food, phones, and school supplies.
• The event saw hundreds of attendees, many of whom were bussed from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Hundreds of migrants lined up outside Lincoln Hospital on Sunday in the hopes of getting healthcare coverage, food, and other free resources.

The city hospital system organized the event as a “resource and family fun day” for the migrants and their children. Event co-sponsor and Medicaid provider MetroPlusHealth had expected about 1,200 migrant attendees. But City Hall estimates over 4,000 migrants have recently arrived in the city.

The line for Sunday’s event on the hospital’s Great Lawn stretched down the block.

MetroPlusHealth offered at least temporary healthcare coverage for migrants. Library cards and back-to-school supplies were also provided for children.

Several of the migrants hailed from Venezuela and left to get away from the violence. Most were among the passengers of the buses provided by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who called out President Joe Biden and Democrat city leaders for relaxing border control. The buses left Texas five days ago and arrived in New York about three days ago. Many of them weren’t able to eat or sleep well when they first arrived.

One of the Venezuelans, 48-year-old Luis Quintana, said that it was “uncomfortable on the bus,” where the bathroom “was closed for several hours.” Wanting to get “work and progress,” he attended the event “to get an ID and health insurance.”

His fellow countryman, 32-year-old Adrian Medina, is looking for work as a welder. He saw a flyer for the event at Bellevue Men’s Shelter, where he is currently residing. Sandy Gonzalez, a 36-year-old mother of two children, got in line in hopes of getting help “from a lawyer for political asylum.” She and her family got off a plane from Texas in early July and have been staying at a Brooklyn shelter.

On Friday, the city’s Department of Homeless Services asked hotels to help find 5,000 additional rooms for the newcomers, on top of the previously requested 600.

Source: New York Post