Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC receives 1st migrant buses from Texas in months, braces for more
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 3, 2023
Modified May 4, 2023
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 .
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 3, 2023
Modified May 4, 2023
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
On Wednesday, New York City received its first known chartered buses bearing migrants sent here by Texas officials in months, and more are expected as local and national officials brace for a predicted surge in migrant border crossings.
Forty-one newcomers stepped onto a gated-off sidewalk at the underpass outside Port Authority Bus Terminal around 7 a.m., and about 50 more arrived on a second bus around 1 p.m. They join more than 59,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since last spring.
The buses follow a promise by Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican from Texas, to ramp up the campaign he began last year of dispatching busloads of migrants to New York, Washington, D.C. and other points north.
Officials say several hundred new migrants continue to arrive in the city daily, long after the flow of chartered buses from border states slowed to a trickle in the fall, before eventually pausing altogether. But the number of daily arrivals could soon swell to over 1,000, said Manuel Castro, the commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, with sweeping pandemic-era border restrictions under Title 42 set to expire May 11.
The Biden administration has said border crossings are expected to double soon afterward. Most of the new arrivals in New York City are asylum-seekers from Central and South America.
Migrants arrive in New York courtesy of a chartered bus dispatched by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
Castro echoed Mayor Eric Adams’ rebuke earlier this week of Abbott’s decision to send more buses to New York City and other major cities led by Black Democrats. Castro also joined in finger-pointing at the lack of help from the White House.
“We are calling on the federal government to intervene now,” Castro pleaded, standing at the underpass ahead of the arrival of the first bus on Wednesday. “There is no more time to wait. They need to step in at the U.S.-Mexico border and help people spread across the country.”
Adams has intensified his pleas for federal intervention in recent weeks, especially to speed up approvals for asylum-seekers to receive work permits. He says the cost of sheltering the newcomers is burning an estimated multibillion-dollar hole in the city’s budget and threatening services. Federal and state aid has not covered the costs.
We're at the height of tourism season in New York. So hotels are running out of space. We're running out of space.
Manuel Castro, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs
As city officials scout more hotels to prepare for the expected influx – more than 100 already are in use as emergency shelters – they face limited options, Castro added.
“We're at the height of tourism season in New York,” he said. “So hotels are running out of space. We're running out of space.”
More volunteers arrived to help manage the bus arrival on Wednesday, bringing extra takeout containers of meals, as well as bags of clothes and toiletries, as members of the National Guard hauled cases of plastic water bottles.
But even after the pause in chartered bus arrivals, local volunteer groups have long been stationed at the bus terminal to help new migrants in shelter and those who have continued to arrive through other means, like airplanes, trains and public long-haul buses.
Migrants arrive in New York City, courtesy of a chartered bus dispatched by Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican of Texas.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
“We've been here. And we're frankly not going anywhere,” said Power Malu, executive director of Artists Athletes Activists. “There's always talks about other places opening up, but this is where everyone shows up. They come to New York City. Port Authority is kind of that place and the word has spread.”
But with the expected influx, Malu called on officials, particularly in New York City but also in border states, to be more transparent and collaborative about their response.
He said, “We have to step up our game and really meet this challenge by communicating, coordinating and working together.”
This article was updated with additional details about the arrival of new migrants in the city. It was further updated to correct the spelling of Manuel Castro's name.
Tagged
immigration
new york city
greg abbott
Asylum Seekers
Race And Justice Unit
eric adams
Port Aurthority
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
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 .