Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New Jersey is down to about 1 migrant bus arrival a day, Gov. Murphy says
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jan 11, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jan 11, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the number of buses from Texas transporting migrants to the Garden State has slowed considerably in the last few days.
On WNYC’s monthly “Ask Governor Murphy” call-in show Wednesday night, he said it went from “four to eight buses a day down to, it feels like, one.”
“I'm not even sure one came in this morning, maybe one came in,” Murphy said.
Buses of migrants — sent by the governors of Texas and Louisiana — began arriving at New Jersey transit hubs around New Year’s weekend, apparently looking to circumvent an executive order by New York City Mayor Eric Adams restricting when and where they could arrive.
Murphy has previously said the vast majority of the chartered buses arriving in New Jersey immediately boarded trains bound for NYC, which has been struggling to find space and provide resources for the more than 160,000 migrants who’ve entered its shelter system since 2022.
Murphy’s administration sent a letter Monday to nearly two dozen bus companies this week, asking for 32 hours’ notice before migrant buses arrive in New Jersey, the same amount of time required in Adams’ executive order. Murphy also asked for the total number of passengers and each location in New Jersey where passengers would be dropped off, saying the information is necessary to properly assist the new arrivals.
In his letter, the governor said 1,800 migrants had arrived at transit sites in New Jersey “due to the bus operators' apparent unwillingness to transport the passengers to New York City” under the terms of Adams’ order.
But unlike that order, Murphy's letter carries no legal force. His office described it Monday as a “demand.”
Asked on WNYC if New Jersey should be doing more to support the migrants, such as housing them in the state, Murphy said he is coordinating all action with his counterparts in New York.
“Right now, I think if you asked New York, they would say, 'You know what, Jersey's cooperating, it's a close operation,'” he said. “The bigger thing is, enough of the political stunts. Let's get adults at the table from both parties and figure this out.”
He faulted Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott for his so-called “Operation Lone Star,” which sends migrants north and covers their transit fares to cities run by Democratic mayors, including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Denver, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
According to Abbott’s office, Texas alone has bused more than 35,600 migrants to New York since 2022.
“The way they're doing it, and the political gamesmanship in using these folks as pawns is completely unacceptable,” Murphy said Wednesday.
Last week, NYC sued 17 bus companies, seeking to recoup $708 million in costs and alleging the companies were carrying out Abbott’s “evil intention” of shifting the costs of the migrants’ care to sanctuary cities. Abbott responded by calling the lawsuit “baseless” and saying the migrants were traveling to the city voluntarily.
Tagged
immigration
new york city
phil murphy
Asylum Seekers
new jersey
Politics
transportation
eric adams
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 10, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
The DSA's NYC chapter accused the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and demanded Mayor Mamdani hold Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch responsible.
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
News
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
The DSA's NYC chapter accused the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and demanded Mayor Mamdani hold Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch responsible.
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
Two people killed in Bronx vehicle crash
By
Kaya Laterman
NY will opt in Trump’s school choice program, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Residents, lawmakers warned for months of potential for deadly ICE activity in Marble Hill
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .