Given that the city has had to cope with the entrance of over 70,000 migrants since the arrival of spring last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) will soon start housing border crossers as well as illegal immigrants in a previously shuttered Harlem prison.

Adams has been granted approval by Governor Kathy Hochul (D) to proceed with plans to convert the former Lincoln Correctional Center in Harlem, a 10,000-square-foot building, into a migrant refuge, according to NY1 Spectrum News.

In 2019, the prison was shut down by former governor Andrew Cuomo (D).

In a statement, Adams’ office announced that the prison will transform into an “emergency respite center” for migrants and that no border crossers or illegal immigrants would be kept in real jail cells.

“As New York City continues to deal with this humanitarian issue, Adams’ office expressed gratitude to the state for donating this facility and working with the city to provide this area as a temporary refuge for asylum seekers.”

The most recent action comes after Adams signed a deal with the proprietors of New York City’s famed Roosevelt Hotel, which was shuttered after the Chinese coronavirus outbreak caused economic shutdowns. The contract calls for the hotel to start lodging thousands of border crossers and illegal immigrants.

The $75 million price tag each year will be borne by the taxpaying citizens of New York City.

Hochul only recently applauded the influx of tens of thousands of migrants from other countries along with illegal aliens, implying that their entry into the local job market is a triumph for businesses with special interests who are seeking ready-to-hire employees with little expectations regarding benefits and pay. This is despite the fact that waves of unlawful immigration are taxing public resources, infrastructure, housing costs, as well as services for New Yorkers.

“The state of New York does not have enough personnel… in addition to the record labor shortage, New York is seeing an unparalleled surge of people who are all legitimately requesting refuge. They come here in quest of employment and a new future, and they are willing to work and want to work,” Hochul added.

According to Adams, the financial burden of the current illegal immigration waves to New Yorkers—who are already spending $5 million a day to cope with the problem—will be much more than $4.3 billion.