1

Effect of Language Barrier due to Influx of Migrants to NYC

Joshua Fox

St. John’s University

EDU 1001: Human Learning and Child Development

Professor Shrinivas

February 23, 2023

 2

Effect of Language Barrier due to Influx of Migrants to NYC

Within the last year, open borders in the south have caused thousands of migrants to

escape to US soil in the state of Texas. When these migrants arrived in Texas, they were bussed

to New York City. Most of these migrants do not know how to speak English, nor do they have

any real, complex form of education. Upon arriving in New York City, these migrants entered

New York City schools, being placed in classes with students that were in completely opposite

situations than they were. The students are unprepared for their grade placement and cannot

speak English. This language barrier and excessive inflow of students have caused many other

issues for the New York City education department. Some of these issues include faulty

placement due to teacher shortages and inadequate funding, all caused by the language barrier of

the thousands of migrants being sent to these schools.

When New York City received thousands of migrants from over the border, they were

unprepared for how to handle the absurd amount of new people in the city. These people had

little to no knowledge of the English language and had nowhere to live. Some of the children

were near illiterate and the motivation for work was not there because the parents did not

understand the work either. In October of 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams recorded the

highest recorded shelter census in recorded history and New York City surpassed the highest

number of people recorded in the shelter system history (As City Anticipates Surpassing Highest

Recorded Shelter Census, Mayor Adams Declares Asylum Seeker State of Emergency, Calls for

Urgent Aid From Federal, State Governments, 2022). The poor living conditions are a central

cause for the lack of motivation for students.

The enormous language gap has caused limited and faulty placement for these students.

The students who cannot speak English are being placed into regular classrooms due to the
 3

shortage of available classrooms. The Chancellor of the Department of Education David Banks

was hit off guard by the influx of students and has no plans of moving children this school year.

Instead, he has a plan to move resources to provide aid for schools this year (Migrant crisis is

ultimate test of NYC schools, 2022). I have personally second-hand experienced this. My older

sister, Christina, is a fourth-grade teacher in south Jamaica, Queens. Due to the vast number of

students being sent to her school, she has been assigned to an ESL, or an English second

language, class. She does not have ESL certification but was placed in this class because of the

lack of certified teachers. One particular example is one of her students named Josue. While

observing in her classroom, I have worked with Josue and seen how behind he is to other

students. Josue just arrived in the United States about two months ago. He does not know any

English and has not had formal school instruction since first grade. He was now dropped into my

sister’s fourth-grade ESL class. He is not only unprepared for being in fourth grade but is

holding other students back. Other students are forced to be a translator for him because my

sister is not fluent in Spanish. The teacher shortage as a result of the language barrier is not only

holding him back from being properly educated but is setting him up to fail in the future because

he will keep moving up.

The language difference has many more effects on the entire education system as a

whole. The inadequate funding is affecting these schools from providing a better education for

new students who have a rough time with their English. At the beginning of November 2022,

New York City distributed nearly $12 million in extra funding to schools that have taken in

migrant students, but additional funding beyond this is only for certain circumstances (NYC

sends $12 million to schools serving newcomers. The city’s budget watchdog says they’re owed

more, 2022). Now, schools are struggling to gain funding for these near-illiterate students based
 4

on New York City’s funding rules on additional money. Because the education department does

not collect students’ immigration status, the city uses housing as a determinant of funding for

each school. New York City decided that they will send an additional $2,000 for taking in each

student that lives in temporary housing (NYC sends $12 million to schools serving newcomers.

The city’s budget watchdog says they’re owed more, 2022). The problem with this is that some

students are coming to New York City and are either homeless on the street or living in non-

temporary housing. This is creating additional issues because the school is not receiving extra

funding for these students, even though they provide the same language issues as other migrant

students. This additional funding could be critical for all schools. From creating more classes

with certified bilingual teachers, to investing in new technology to be able to give every new

student a laptop to do work or be able to translate, more funding would be essential to the

schools.

There is no doubt that there are many issues in education. I believe that many of them

stemmed from the influx of migrants, specifically the giant language barrier. These students are

being sent to New York City schools while not knowing a single word of English. Thousands of

students are being sent to NYC schools and are holding behind classes. Students are being placed

into classes that they are not prepared for and teachers are not certified to handle students that do

not speak English. Although receiving a lot of money for funding for these students, schools are

still far behind on funding that would provide resources and at least soothe the stress that many

teachers are facing. This is evident in my situation with Josue. He is extremely held back and set

up to fail in the future, at no fault of his own. He was placed in fourth grade while speaking no

English at all and having the knowledge of a first-grader. He is only able to communicate with

other Spanish-speaking students and not able to do any of the work. This is an issue that is
 5

affecting the whole class, and it is only one student. In many schools, there are classes of half

English students and half Spanish speaking students. Overall, these students are being set up to

fail by faulty placement and lack of funding, all due to the large gap between languages.
 6

References

Mayor Adams declares asylum Seeker State of Emergency. The official website of the City of
New York. (2022, October 7). Retrieved February 22, 2023, from
https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/728-22/as-city-anticipates-surpassing-
highest-recorded-shelter-census-mayor-adams-declares-asylum-seeker#/0

Migrant crisis is Ultimate Test of NYC Schools. POLITICO. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2023,
from https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/24/migrant-crisis-is-ultimate-test-of-nyc-
schools-00062916

NYC schools face funding shortfalls as they step up to meet needs of migrant students. Office of
the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2023, from
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/nyc-schools-face-funding-shortfalls-as-they-step-
up-to-meet-needs-of-migrant-students/

Zimmerman, A. (2022, October 31). NYC sends $12 million to schools serving newcomers. the
city's budget watchdog says they're owed more. Chalkbeat New York. Retrieved February
22, 2023, from https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/31/23433768/migrant-student-funding-
nyc-school