New York City Mayor Eric Adams called for federal help while denouncing the governor of Texas after a busload of illegal immigrants arrived in the Big Apple.
The Democrat condemned the “horrific” actions of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday as he met a second busload of migrants who had illegally crossed into the U.S. Though only 14 people reportedly disembarked at the Port Authority bus terminal stop, Adams leveled criticism at Abbott and claimed some of the travelers did not come to New York City willingly.
“This is horrific, when you think about what the governor is doing,” Adams said at a press conference Sunday.
(Video: NBC New York/YouTube)
“We’re finding that some of the families are on the bus that wanted to go to other locations, and they were not allowed to do so,” the mayor claimed. “They were forced on the bus with the understanding that they were going to other locations that they wanted to go to, and when they tried to explain they were not allowed to do so.”
.@NYCMayor on the ground at @PABusTerminal greeting asylum seekers arriving in New York City from Texas. pic.twitter.com/dTrxF5oJmp
— City of New York (@nycgov) August 7, 2022
The mayor reportedly noted that more were expected to disembark on Sunday but perhaps a “fear” of the city affected that number, the New York Post reported.
“We were led to believe about 40 people should have been on that bus. Only 14 got off,” Adams said at the early morning press conference, suggesting it was “because of the fear that something was going to happen to them if they came to this location, people got off earlier.”
Sunday’s bus load followed a previous arrival where about 50 migrants had come into New York City on Friday as a result of Abbott’s attempt to make a point and bring attention to the influx of migrants illegally streaming across the Texas border.
According to Politico:
The city estimated last week that 4,000 asylum seekers have entered its shelter system since late May. Adams pointed to the influx when he revealed last month that the city violated state law by failing to timely place indigent families in city shelters.
Abbott has ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to both New York and Washington, D.C., where thousands of new arrivals have been sent since April.
Adams criticized Abbott for not alerting him about the incoming busloads and accused the governor of using “innocent people as political pawns to manufacture a crisis.”
.@GregAbbott_TX used innocent people as political pawns to manufacture a crisis. New Yorkers are stepping up to fix it — that’s our city’s values.
But we need the federal government’s help — money, technical assistance and more. pic.twitter.com/cOdXrULpcC
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) August 7, 2022
“They’re not letting us know when the buses are leaving. They’re not letting us know what are the needs of the people on the bus,” Adams said on Sunday. “They are not giving us any information, so we’re unable to really provide the service to people en route.”
“It is unimaginable what the governor of Texas has done, when you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who were fleeing persecution,” the former police officer added. “We’ve always welcomed them. And this governor is not doing that in Texas. But we are going to set the right tone of being here for these families.”
He also called for federal help in dealing with the incoming arrivals, a number that pales in comparison to the thousands illegally streaming into Texas. The mayor also turned down an invitation from Abbott for him and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to come to see the situation at the southern border in person.
“We need help, and we’re reaching out to the federal government to tell them that we need help,” Admas said. “We’re going to get through this.”
Since April, charter buses have been transporting migrants from Texas to both New York and Washington, D.C., as Abbott has called out the Biden administration for the crisis plaguing the nation’s border states.
“Because of President Biden’s continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe,” the governor said in a statement.
“In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,” the statement added. “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.”
Leaders in New York City & D.C. weren’t concerned about the border crisis until it reached their cities.
They attack Texas for stepping up where Biden has failed.
We will continue bussing migrants to D.C. until the Biden Administration does its job of securing the border. pic.twitter.com/6Lv1Jm7VGm
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 3, 2022
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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