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NYC mayor says Texas refused to coordinate on migrant 'crisis'
By
Karen Yi
Published Sep 18, 2022
Modified Sep 18, 2022
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By
Karen Yi
Published Sep 18, 2022
Modified Sep 18, 2022
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has refused to coordinate with New York on the asylum seekers he’s bused to the city since May, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday, citing six more buses that arrived this morning.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Adams said moments of crisis call for coordination, but the city wasn’t being notified of when buses of migrant families were arriving.
“We reached out to Governor Abbott when we first discovered that he was compelling people to get on the bus, he was tagging them. He was sending them on a 45-hour ride, without any proper food, water or medical care,” Adams said. “We've reached out and stated [to say] let's coordinate and work together so we can deal with this crisis together. They refused to do so.”
Adams appeared on the Sunday talk shows, including networks like CNN and ABC, calling the migrant situation a “humanitarian crisis made by human hands.” He blasted Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who sent mostly Venezuelan families to Martha’s Vineyard last week — for what he referred to as political ploys. He said coordinating with other cities would have helped ensure proper food, shelter and sponsors for migrant families, but alleged that wasn’t politically expedient for the Republican governors.
“I believe it was a political ploy to overlook some of the things we’ve done that dismantle human rights, everything from the women's right to choose, to gun control. This is the same playbook that we're seeing playing out,” Adams said on ABC.
He said COVID-positive migrants were put on the bus and said others were dehydrated.
On CBS2, Adams said his office was considering whether they could use cruise ships to temporarily house migrants. He said his legal team was also considering what court actions they could take to stop the influx of migrants from Texas.
“Our legal team is looking at what legal challenges we can do with Texas,” he said. “When you involuntarily place someone on a bus, we believe that actually skates the law so our legal team is looking at this.”
Speaking on CNN, Adams said New York would continue to be a sanctuary city and follow its right to shelter law, but said his administration was looking to change the practices around the requirement. He didn’t name specifics.
“We're experiencing the challenges in doing so, but we're obligated by law here in the city of New York as has been mentioned over and over again. This is a right to shelter city and we're going to fulfill our obligations,” he said.
Adams also said he met with President Joe Biden’s administration and U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York to discuss how the federal government can provide additional resources.
More than 11,000 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived in New York since May.
This story has been updated to include the mayor's comments on CBS2.
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Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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