The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into hotels in New York City that have been sheltering illegal immigrants. Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas targeting two locations — the Roosevelt Hotel and the Stewart Hotel — seeking information about their operations and funding.
The Roosevelt Hotel has functioned as a major intake center for migrants since 2023 and has reportedly processed more than 170,000 individuals. The Stewart Hotel has served exclusively as a shelter for illegal immigrants. Another location, the Hotel Chandler, has also been subpoenaed, though it operates as a homeless shelter rather than a migrant facility.
JUST IN: The DOJ is investigating the New York City hotels which were turned into migrant shelters. Billions of your tax dollars went towards housing criminal illegal aliens in luxury hotels pic.twitter.com/utl8ILdjWb
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 13, 2025
Prosecutors are looking into potential violations of federal immigration law and are requesting records detailing who has stayed at these hotels, along with financial agreements related to the migrant shelter program. The investigation is being handled by the Southern District of New York.
New York City has spent billions housing illegal immigrants since 2022. More than 232,000 border crossers have arrived in the city, with as many as 69,000 being housed at one time. The number of migrants currently in city shelters is estimated to be around 45,000.
One of the main focuses of scrutiny is the Roosevelt Hotel’s financial arrangement. The hotel is owned by the government of Pakistan, and the city reportedly agreed to pay up to $220 million to use the location as a shelter. This deal was allegedly linked to an International Monetary Fund bailout package that helped Pakistan avoid a financial collapse.
Mayor Eric Adams has not commented on the federal probe but has announced that the Roosevelt Hotel will soon close. His administration has confirmed that 53 shelters will be shutting down by June, with plans to transfer services to other facilities.
The investigation follows reports that FEMA provided $59 million for housing illegal immigrants in high-end New York City hotels, contradicting previous claims from the Biden administration that such funds were not being used for migrant accommodations.
