As New York City has continued to see a continuous influx of asylum seekers, city officials and advocates gathered on Wednesday to discuss how to keep New Yorkers safe while giving opportunities to those in need.  

The deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, Anne Williams-Isom, joined other advocates to say that migrants have been arriving in New York City since last year and that the city has tackled every obstacle it’s been faced with during that time. 

“We know that there are people in our shelters who are telling their family members to come to New York City and that they'll get housing and that they'll get to stay with them. That is no longer, has never been the case but we want to make sure we're being clear with people that New York City is out of space." 

Officials say they’re working to slow down the intake of migrants while increasing exits from the shelters through intensive case management.  

"The case management in all of these connections to how we can help asylum seekers to get the specific help and services they need so they can take their next step forward and leave our system is an important new direction that we're taking now at this stage of the crisis,” said Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president of NYC Health + Hospitals.  

Leaders say they’re now focused on creating a long-term plan for the migrant crisis.