White House says NYC migrants displacing students 'is something that New York City needs to answer to'

Decision to force high school students to pivot to remote learning due to a migrant relocation is something New York City needs to address, White House says.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the decision to temporarily transfer nearly 2,000 migrants from a Brooklyn tent shelter to a nearby high school — forcing students there to pivot to remote learning Wednesday — is "something that New York City needs to answer to." 

Jean-Pierre made the remark after New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office said Tuesday that it was moving 1,900 migrants from Floyd Bennett Field for safety reasons due to an incoming storm that ended up bringing inches of rain and winds topping 60 mph to some parts of the Big Apple. 

The migrants were moved to James Madison High School, which confirmed it was being used as a "temporary overnight respite center" and would be closed as a result on Wednesday — with students being forced to "pivot" to remote learning as a result. 

"A whole high school in New York is having remote classes today because the building was needed to house people who came into this country illegally. So what is the president's priority in this case? Is it the migrants or is it the students?" Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre during Wednesday’s briefing. 

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"So let me just clear this up a little bit. So yesterday, New York City informed us that as a precaution, they would temporarily relocate migrants staying at Floyd Bennett Field to a nearby high school. As of this morning, all migrants have returned to the facility at Floyd Bennett Field," she responded. "And so anything specific as to the program and what they decided to do and all of the specifics to that, I would certainly refer you to New York City for any additional questions." 

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Then Jean-Pierre added that "when it comes to education, migrants, the economy, the president deals with multiple issues all at once. That is his job. 

"There are multiple things happening all at once. And as it relates to this particular question that you're asking me about New York City, that is something that New York City needs to answer to," she also said. "That is a process that they took. So they have to answer to that." 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.