New York migrant shelter targeted by Trump officials to shut in blow to Pakistan

Open the newsletter to watch the White House for free

Your guide to what the American elections mean 2024 for Washington and the world

The government, which suffers from financial hardship in Pakistan, was hit after New York moved to the cancellation of a $ 220 million contract with a hotel owned by the axis of criticism from US President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Pakistani -owned international Airways has acquired a century -old Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan for more than two decades. Since 2023, the hotel has been used to host or treat more than 100,000 bus immigrants from all over the United States.

But this week, New York mayor Eric Adams said the city would close the shelter, saying that the number of immigrants entering New York decreased to 350 a week from 4000 a week two years ago.

Adams said more than 232,000 migrants have come to New York in the past three years. “The Roosevelt Hotel was the place where we treated 75 % of those who entered our care, and it was very important for our effective operations,” was published on X.

The early party of a three -year contract is a setback for Pakistan, as it tries to privatize its transportation company, which was a major traction in the financial affairs of the state. The first round of bids for the airline last year faded due to the investor’s concerns about issues, including taxes on new aircraft and employees.

We were aware of the dangers with this new government [the Trump administration] “He settles in Pakistan. The official said that the contract can be canceled after May,” said a senior government official in Pakistan.

A city spokesman said that the center will be closed in the “coming months”, which provides taxpayers “millions of dollars.”

Adams’s decision to close the shelter came two weeks after the US Department of Justice Low corruption accusations against himCritics, who critics say was part of Quid Pro Quo with the Trump administration to intensify the campaign against illegal immigrants. Adams denied the claims.

The luxury Roosevelt, which was one day, which includes more than 1,000 rooms and was a place in New York for decades, to Pia in 1979. The airline bought it at a later time, making it a favorite chase for the wealthy Pakistanis who have now used airline from Karachi to run for shopping.

But the hotel was gradually starting with the preference and losses related to the epidemic, which was recently forced to close it in 2020.

The revenues of the migrant shelter agreement helped to pay more than 600 billion rupees (2.14 billion dollars) of the debts taken by PIA Holding when it was created last year, a step aimed at facilitating the privatization of assets that include the basic airline and the Paris Hotel.

An intense violent reaction has grown about New York Roosevelt’s use between the Trump administration officials and supporters.

Vivek Ramaswami, who was previously headed by the so -called government efficiency, along with Elon Musk, on the social media site X in December, said that “the taxpayers” in New York City are actually paying a foreign government to accommodate two illegal articles in our country. “

Trump complained in February of the city using large sums in a hotel he said was “not a luxury.”

In a publication on X, the Minister of Internal Security, Christie, justified a decision to freeze $ 80 million of immigration money to New York, saying that the hotel was the “base of operations” for a Venezuelan gang. Naim did not provide any evidence of the claim.

Pakistan officials and analysts said that the early party of the contract may compel Islamabad to accelerate the efforts made to sell or expel the property and build a multi -use skyscraper with a development partner.

At the hotel, near the Grand Central station in the center of Manhattan, the residents are filtering inside and outside the building, and exchanged greetings and fist bumps with security personnel behind the metal barriers.

Children who live in the hotel play on the sidewalk abroad, steps from high -end restaurants and clothing stores.

Inside, the hotel’s lobby still has its decorative richness and a picture of Guy Lombardo, the famous commander of the Roosevelt house in the 1930s.

The planned closure of the hotel, which turned into shirts, raised fears between some of the 2,800 residents.

“The truth is that they did not tell us anything,” said Hikdimar Rivas, a three -year -old mother for three years, who arrived from Venezuela earlier this year. “We discovered from the press.”