New York City Mayor Eric Adams put a welcoming smile on his face on Sunday to greet the city’s newest potential residents: more than a dozen migrants who had illegally crossed the border from Mexico into Texas.
But the smile quickly faded as he slammed the move by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who chartered at least two buses to send some 68 undocumented migrants to the Big Apple this past weekend.
In fact, Adams accused Abbott 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
Adams also claimed that some of the migrants were actually “forced” on to the buses in Texas. But Abott’s office has said that “to board a bus or flight, a migrant must volunteer to be transported and show documentation from DHS.”
The office of the Texas governor said last Friday in a statement that New York is now a designated “drop-off location for the busing strategy as part of the governor’s response to the Biden administration’s open border policies overwhelming Texas communities.”
“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,” Abbott said.
“In addition to Washington, DC, 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.
“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,” Abbott added.
“It’s unimaginable, what the governor in Texas has done,” Adams told reporters Sunday in a briefing.
“When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who were fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we’ve always welcomed that. And this governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to set the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families.”
But New Yorkers are not alone in wrestling with the newest batch of homeless illegals in their city.
Abbott’s office had already directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management this past April to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington DC.
“Since the beginning of this busing strategy, thousands of migrants have been transported to the nation’s capital while providing much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities,” the governor’s office said.
More than 5,100 migrants have been transported to Washington DC from Texas on more than 135 chartered buses, Abbott’s office said.
Adams and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser have both turned to the Biden Administration for federal aid to help them cope with the influx of migrants.
As one of the few cities in America with ‘right to housing laws,’ New York City is required to provide emergency shelter for every unhoused person.
