New York City mayor Eric Adams ignited a firestorm last week when, in the wake of the arrival of thousands of migrants to the city bused in by Republican governor Greg Abbott, he called for New York’s shelter policies — including its “right to shelter” that established a legal right for all New Yorkers to have a bed to sleep in — to be “reassessed.” His statement followed a report that his officials failed to offer shelter beds to at least sixty individuals on a single night.

What was meant by a “reassessment” remains unclear. At a press conference on September 15, the city’s chief attorney stated that the influx of migrants and refugees from Central and South America required reassessing not the right to shelter, but the specific policies and practices the city has in place to comply with that right. And Adams himself seems to have backed off his initial call. Still, it appears the city’s legal right to shelter may be in jeopardy.

Adams’s initial announcement marked the latest in his continuation of right-leaning municipal policies, coming after months of vicious sweeps targeting homeless people in public places, forced closures of hotels offering private rooms to disabled homeless individuals, and austerity measures that have left housing and homelessness agencies without adequate staffing to find people stable housing.