New York City's mayor asked a judge Tuesday to temporarily set aside its long-standing “right to shelter” mandate, saying it could no longer meet its legal obligation to house every homeless person because of the arrival of tens of thousands of international migrants.
The right to shelter has been in place for more than four decades in the city, after a court in 1981 required the city to provide temporary shelter for every homeless person who asks for it. Other big U.S. cities don't have such a rule.
