NYC Mayor Eric Adams threatens to follow Chicago’s lead and IMPOUND buses carrying migrants from Texas – as he and mayors of other ‘sanctuary cities’ team up to blast Biden administration: ‘The lack of care on display has created chaos’
New York City's mayor is introducing restrictions on migrant buses entering the city after 14 arrived in one day, with no end to the crisis in sight.
Eric Adams held a virtual news conference Wednesday with the mayors of Chicago and Denver, and all three Democrats called on the Biden administration to do more to help, accusing the federal government of abandoning them.
Adams said his city — which has received more than 161,000 migrants sent north from the border on buses since August 2022 — was following Chicago's lead and imposing restrictions.
Buses carrying migrants must report their arrival 32 hours in advance and can only arrive Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. They are only allowed to drop off migrants at designated locations.
Buses that break the rules can be impounded. The bus companies will be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, fined and face possible lawsuits.
“We cannot allow buses carrying people who need our help to arrive at all hours, day and night, without warning,” he said.
'This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly manner. It endangers those who have already suffered so much.”
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, held a joint news conference Wednesday with the mayors of Chicago and Denver, who are also struggling to deal with the increase in migrants
Migrants in New York City are seen being bused to a shelter after arriving from Texas
He said it was about “ensuring the safety of migrants.”
Adams said the chaos was caused by Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, who sent the buses in an attempt to get Democrats to share his state's fight. But he warned bus companies not to be complicit.
“We're basically saying to bus operators and businesses, don't participate in Governor Abbott's actions,” Adams said.
“We want them to take the right actions to be responsible, by taking those actions during the hours we set aside for that. Those asylum seekers on the buses are not punished in any way. This has no consequences for the passengers on the buses.'
Adams pointed out that a plane chartered by Abbott was sent to New York City on Tuesday but was unable to land at JFK airport due to fog. The plane was diverted to Philadelphia and the migrants took a bus to New York, arriving in the city at 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Adams said it caused “chaos” and was cruel and unfair.
“We are once again seeing record numbers of crossings at our southern border,” Adams said, referring to the nearly 10,000 people crossing illegally from Mexico every day.
“What that means for us in New York City is a wave of migrants coming to our door.”
Adams said he was “proud” to join forces with Chicago's Brandon Johnson and Denver's Mike Johnston to share ideas and tactics to tackle the surge.
Migrants are seen arriving in Chicago on a bus from Texas
Chicago has spent $138 million on the crisis, which is only expected to worsen as temperatures drop as winter progresses
Johnson said about 15,000 asylum seekers were being held in shelters in the city after being brought in by buses from the US-Mexico border, mainly Texas.
A young migrant girl eagerly shows off what she's made of overnight snowfall in a small tent community in Chicago
Chicago's mayor claimed that since he was elected seven months ago, poor coordination between federal, state and local government had worsened the crisis
Chicago now requires buses to drop off migrants during approved weekdays, and in a specific drop-off zone in Chicago's West Loop, with a maximum number of arrivals of two per hour.
The city is suing bus companies and on Dec. 13 approved fines to impound buses and fine owners $3,000 if they don't follow Chicago rules limiting the time and frequency of arrivals.
Some bus drivers get around the rules by dropping off their passengers in the Chicago suburbs instead of in the city.
But Adams said sharing knowledge was helpful.
“I'm glad our teams were able to share the lessons they learned from what they do, and I want to thank him (the mayor of Chicago) for this insight and the way to manage this crisis,” Adams said.
“New York City is part of a coalition of cities and counties, and we know the importance of this moment. We are working together to address this national humanitarian crisis.
“I'm proud to be here with my fellow mayors to call on the federal government to do their part with one voice, and to tell Governor Greg Abbott to stop the games and stop the using people as political pawns.'
Adams said as temperatures drop, they are calling for a federal emergency.
“We need the assistance of the state and federal government to resettle the 68,000 migrants currently in our care,” he said, noting that they have been offered food, clothing and shelter, plus assistance in obtaining work permits.
According to Adams, the cost of sheltering and caring for tens of thousands of migrants is expected to add nearly $5 billion in expenses to the city's $107 billion budget for this fiscal year and another $6 billion the following year.
Adams has asked every department in the city to shave 5 percent off their budget to fund migrant costs, and as a result, some libraries have closed and city locations are operating with reduced hours.
El Paso city officials worked with state officials to transport more than 17,000 migrants from the West Texas city
The federal government has allocated $135 million to reimburse the costs of asylum seekers in the city for the current budget year, and the state $562 million.
But Adams said the amount is insufficient.
On Wednesday evening, he told Pix 11 that he did not hope the federal government would provide more money, despite the migrant crisis having “really escalated” in recent weeks.
About 7,200 migrants have arrived in New York City in the past two weeks, officials said.
“I'm not as optimistic as I was in April last year,” Adams said.
'I didn't think we would still be talking here about the support we need. We should not be doing the work of the federal government.”
Chicago has spent $138 million on sheltering migrants.
Texas has spent $86.1 million so far sending migrants to “sanctuary cities” across the country — about $1,650 per person.
“What the state of Texas is doing is not helping the cause in any way,” Johnson said Wednesday.
“While we recognize there are significant challenges at the border, sending buses across Illinois and the entire country is reckless and, quite frankly, dangerous.”