Newly arrived migrants are straining New York’s social and humanitarian resources, according to one county executive who is asking for help from the federal government to address the issue.

Evelio Martinez fled his home country of Guatemala and came lacking legal status to the U.S. in 2018 with a dream to obtain an education and reliable work. He eventually found both at SUNY Ulster and a factory job in Kingston.

“It’s difficult when people come by themselves,” Martinez said through translation. “Little by little, I found my way and have work, but it’s very difficult at first.”

Since then, Martinez’s five siblings joined him in the U.S. His brother arrived last spring. While coming here was one challenge, living here is proving to be another. Martinez said landing a job has been tough for his brother because of current immigration laws.

“If you don’t have a job and you don’t have permission to work, it’s very difficult to find any kind of work to be able to pay the rent and cost of living,” Martinez said.

The siblings are trying to support him. They also get by thanks to the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network’s food pantry. The pantry is specifically geared toward immigrants in the U.S. to help them settle and survive, but stress points are starting to show here and in other places around New York.

“The needs we have here are extensive. Clothes, medical care, education, food and this list goes on and on and on,” said Rockland County Executive Ed Day.

Day said local authorities are experiencing what he calls an “influx of migrants,” testing the resilience of community resources, especially food pantries.

“When we run out of food out of the clear blue sky, coincidentally, during the same time, we're having this migrant crisis, it's kind of easy to draw a parallel between the two,” Day said.

When specifically asked how many people are arriving, Day couldn’t provide a number and sourced the information from community conversations. He said all are welcome, but is asking the federal government to take a larger role in support and resources for the newly arrived migrants. Day also said the New York City suburb is not experiencing busloads of people like the city, but insisted people are making their way to the Hudson Valley and the rest of the state.

In Kingston, the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network said its food pantry hit a record in December 2021, as 100 immigrant families per week needed food. Since then, that number has nearly doubled. The pantry has run out of food a few times.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said incidents with migrants lacking legal status in New York increased over the last year, reaching about 81,000, up from nearly 13,000 in 2021.

At the Rockland County-based Center for Safety and Change, Stefany Ovalles said the headlines are nothing new.

“I can't say that there's any one answer. I think that it starts definitely with some reform and sort of hope that that has an effect as it trickles down to local communities like Rockland County and Hudson Valley,” Ovalles said.

When Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke with Spectrum News NY 1 last month, she said the state spent more than $160 million for around 1,000 National Guard members to help at assistance locations. Hochul also mentioned the possibility of moving some migrants upstate, but the challenge is making sure they can legally work.

“I’ve already been in contact with county executives all over the state. They don't have a lot of surplus space, and they're not getting extra funds to support them,” Hochul said. “So there is a willingness, but I think once we transition from this time when they can't work to when they can work, it’s going to be a lot easier to place them in other places.”

Martinez has since earned permission to work in the U.S. legally. He continues to make a difference in his community and hopes his success can spread to others.

“The people that have recently arrived, it’s very hard to figure out a way to go,” Martinez said through translation. “If they don’t have a regular wage or they don’t have a place to live, it’s very hard to figure that out.”

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said he's working with California’s Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia to develop a bipartisan group to come up with a plan to overcome the challenges.

“The whole purpose of bringing the working group together is to really work through it, so I’m not laying out this has to be or this has to be the answer. We have to find compromise, and both sides are going to have to give here,” Lawler said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has echoed the calls for help, as the city has seen more than 50,000 migrants since last spring. He spoke about this after getting back from a trip to El Paso in January.

“There must be a national czar. I think it should be done through FEMA. We should treat this the same way we treat any major disaster or major crisis that should be coordinating with the border patrol, coordinating with our cities and our states to make sure that we as a country absorb this national issue,” Adams said.