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Do you support temporarily housing new migrants in SUNY dorms?
- Yes
- No
Among the state’s registered voters, 54 percent oppose using SUNY dorms to temporarily house new migrants to New York, while 33 percent are in favor, according to a Siena College poll released Wednesday, June 28.
“Voters oppose using SUNY dorms to temporarily house new migrants to New York by a 21-point margin," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement. "It’s opposed by more than three-quarters of Republicans and a majority of independents, while Democrats are evenly divided."
“Pluralities of young and Latino voters support using SUNY dorms to temporarily house migrants, but majorities of older, white and Black voters oppose it.”
Voters were also asked whether they support relocating some new migrants from New York City to housing in other counties paid for by the city. Among those polled, 46 percent were opposed and 40 percent approved.
“A majority of Democrats and New York City voters support it, however, it’s opposed by Republicans, independents, downstate suburbanites and upstaters,” Greenberg said.
The polling comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration considered housing up to 1,500 migrants at dorms at the University of Buffalo, Stony Brook University, and the University at Albany, Spectrum News NY1 reports.
Plans have not been finalized and Hochul told the outlet she is looking at all state assets to help alleviate what she described as a problem that’s at a “crisis level” in New York City.
Do you support temporarily housing new migrants in SUNY dorms? Sound off in our poll above.
The Siena College poll also touched on several other issues, including recently passed legislation.
Among them is the so-called “clean slate bill,” which would seal criminal convictions for most felonies, though not for murder or sex crimes, eight years after someone finished their prison sentence.
Of those polled, 40 percent said the proposal was “bad” for New York, compared to 37 percent who thought it was “good.”
“Pluralities of Democrats, New York City and Black voters think sealing criminal records as proposed will be good for the state, while a majority of Republicans and pluralities of independents, downstate suburbanites, upstaters, white and Latino voters think ‘clean slate’ will be bad for New York,” Greenberg said.
Looking ahead to 2024, voters in New York backed President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump, 50 to 28 percent, in a hypothetical rematch, the poll found.
Fourteen percent said they preferred someone else to occupy the White House.
The two men garnered less support when the question was opened up to include other candidates.
“Interestingly, about a third of Democrats, Republicans and independents agree that they would like the 2024 ballot to not include either Biden or Trump,” Greenberg said.
“While 49 percent of Republicans prefer a scenario that includes Trump and 54 percent of Democrats want Biden on the ballot, for independents, only 29 percent want Trump on the ballot and only 32 percent want Biden.”
View the complete poll results on the Siena College website.
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