Every September, the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York City. From Sept. 19 to 21, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass co-hosted the Urban 20 (U20) summit. Mayors from more than 35 cities across Group of Twenty (G20) countries came, including those from London, Paris, Johannesburg, Jakarta and Sao Paulo. The U20 gives cities a voice at the G20, and it met in the U.S. this year because the U.S. holds the G20 presidency. The mayors signed a communiqué on housing, climate and migration. On migration, they said cities carry “much of the practical responsibility and fiscal cost” of receiving newcomers, and they asked for a formal role in national policy and funding sent directly to cities. Cities do the work of welcoming newcomers and pay a large portion of the bill, but the national governments make the rules, so the mayors ask for two things: a) a formal role in shaping migration policy, and b) for money to be sent straight to cities.
Migration is the area I know best through my studies and work experience, so I will focus primarily on that part of the summit. Mamdani welcomed the mayors and set his message on migration. While leaders “both in the United States and overseas,” as he put it, “demonize and terrorize immigrants,” he argued that migration is quite fundamental to a city's success. Mamdani sent a message far beyond New York City, whereby mayors from around the world came to an agreement.
Mamdani also made a point I think is the key to everything else. When a city fails at providing basic rights like housing or transit, people look for someone to blame, and newcomers, namely migrants, are the easiest target. If that’s true, the best way to protect migrants is to make sure basic needs are met, and that tells cities exactly where to put their money.
First, housing. Newcomers deserve real homes, not to remain in temporary emergency housing. At the height of the asylum surge in January 2024, New York City was caring for nearly 70,000 asylum seekers, many of them in emergency sites that kept people safe but gave them no path to a stable life. Now the city plans to close its last emergency migrant shelter by the end of this year, and that's the right move as long as what replaces it is better. The money should go toward turning vacant buildings into apartments and helping families move into permanent homes so the next people who arrive are met with a welcoming and established neighborhood community. Those apartments help longtime New Yorkers too, which shows that welcoming newcomers and caring for current residents aren't in competition.
Second, jobs. Many migrants arrive with real skills but get stuck when it comes to receiving validation on work permits (especially during the current administration) and possibly language barriers. Picture a trained nurse waiting months for a work permit, relying on city services when she could be paying taxes and working at a hospital that needs her. While waiting for approval, cities could offer funding for legal clinics that help people file applications thoroughly, offer some training or even help to partner employers with newcomers for an easier transition. So much can be done.
How the money is spent matters just as much as where. The people migrants trust most are usually community groups, religious organizations and neighbors from back home. Migrants are often rightfully skeptical of government buildings and offices due to fear of potential detention or questioning. Cities should give these groups steady, longer-term funding instead and should team up with employers so job training leads to taking on actual jobs. They should also keep working with each other, sharing costs and information so no city is left to handle a surge alone. Mamdani's summit was the start of exactly that.
Spending on migrants is a controversial subject because residents often cannot afford to pay rent or live in an area of high unemployment, which sometimes creates the stereotype that migrants are taking jobs from non-migrants. But that's the point of the summit: housing and jobs help everyone at once. If cities win the power and money the mayors asked for, the plan should be simple: homes before shelters, jobs that use people’s skills and building partnerships among one another. That's how cities can prove the summit's core message: migration makes them stronger.
Sabrina Bet-Mansour is a senior from London, England, studying International Studies.
