NEW YORK (WABC) — A new eviction plan in New York City is expected to impact migrant families living in homeless shelters.

The new directive sets a 60-day stay limit for migrants living in a particular home. Critics say a new stay limit for migrant families with children could drive them onto the streets.

Nearly 30,000 migrant parents and children currently live in shelters across New York City.

However, city officials say this does not mean that the families will simply be thrown out of the emergency shelters.

The city says it will continue to work with families to plan next steps before the 60 days are up.

Migrant families live predominantly in the roughly 150 shelters managed by the state Department of Homeless Services, which approved the city’s 60-day stay restriction.

Immigration advocates say the change does little to help immigrant families and will leave them challenged to find new homes, especially at the start of the new school year.

However, officials say these are necessary steps.

“We are taking preventative measures. If we build a system that still has 212,000 people in our care, it is not financially viable. And it is just not the right thing to do to people. People should not spend their entire lives in shelters,” said Mayor Eric Adams.

The New York Immigration Coalition responded with a statement that said, in part: “Shelters have always been designed as a temporary stopgap measure until families can stand on their own two feet again, but without inclusive and supportive housing solutions, our shelter system will remain overwhelmed and our families will continue to fall through the cracks.”

In the meantime, the city plans to relocate 800 residents from the shelter on Randall’s Island. The move comes as the city aggressively dismantles encampments right next to the shelter that house people whose stay has expired.

The city says families who are now subject to the 60-day deadline can submit a new application for accommodation in another facility if they do not have other accommodation.

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