NYC Mayor Eric Adams declares state of emergency over influx of migrants
Oct 7, 2022, 10:26 AM | Updated: 12:27 pm
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) speaking at a press conference in front of the Tweed Courthouse about a new initiative regarding public safety and education. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
(Sipa via AP Images)
(CNN) — Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency to help respond to the city’s migrant crisis, which he told reporters Friday will cost the city $1 billion this fiscal year.
“We now have a situation where more people are arriving in New York City than we can immediately accommodate, including families with babies and young children,” Adams said. “Once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, we would surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system.”
The mayor is calling for federal and state aid.
Adams said in September that officials were assessing how they will respond to the influx of migrants, including legal options.
“Once we finalize how we’re going to continue to live up to our legal and moral obligation, we’re going to announce it. Until then, we’re just letting people know what we’re thinking of and how we’re going to find creative ways to solve this man-made humanitarian crisis,” Adams said at an unrelated event.
A record number of migrants were bused to the city on September 18 — nine in total, which is the most recorded in a single day in this recent wave, according to two city officials. At least 1,011 asylum seekers arrived from September 16 to September 18, according to a third city official.
As of August 9, Texas spent more than $12 million busing migrants to Washington and New York, according to figures from the Texas Division of Emergency Management. As part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the Biden administration’s immigration policies, the state has bused more than 11,000 migrants to New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago since August, Abbott’s office announced in September.
Abbott and others who favor increasing immigration restrictions argue that Biden administration policies have provided an incentive for more people to cross the border illegally. Some Republican candidates have pushed the narrative of a migrant invasion as midterm elections approach, pledging they’ll do more to crack down on illegal immigration.
The busing campaign has led to sparring between Abbott and Adams, whose administration has accused the governor of using human beings as political pawns and whose city has been long considered a sanctuary for migrants. The mayor has asked the federal government for more resources, including housing assistance. The White House said it is in touch with Adams and committed to FEMA funding and other support.
Adams has said he has spoken with the mayor of El Paso and told him New York City cannot accommodate this many asylum seekers. He said the city has been in contact with Abbott’s office, adding that the Texas governor and his team have not been open to communication.
Adams reiterated that New York City is still a sanctuary city but stressed it is unable to handle such an overwhelming influx of migrants.
“We are not telling anyone that New York can accommodate every migrant in the city,” the mayor said Monday. “We’re not encouraging people to send eight, nine buses a day. That is not what we’re doing. We’re saying that as a sanctuary city with right to shelter, we’re going to fulfill that obligation. That’s what we’re doing.”
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