Kings Without Land

Overwhelmed by the record influx of immigrants, New York City began housing migrants in hotels, industrial sites, and apartments converted into shelters. In this context, since September 2023, I have been accompanying migrants I have met at one of the city's largest shelter complexes - six tents with a capacity of up to 3,000 people on Randall's Island's Athletic Field #83. I was there when the first Venezuelans began offering their services as barbers, and I was there when the park outside the shelter became a bustling market ecosystem - many migrants took their fate into their own hands. They offered their services as barbers, served coffee and food, and sold clothes and anything else that might find a customer. After the cold and the city shut down the Randall's Island market, I followed the migrants I met during my more than 20 market visits around New York City and beyond as they tried to make a home in an overwhelmed immigration system. I followed a Mauritanian to Ohio, some Venezuelans, Senegalese and a Russian to a community garden in Brooklyn, and another Mauritanian to many of the 9 shelters he has since been placed in.