NYC mayor Adams to speak with other mayors in DC about unifying amid migrant surge
Mayor Eric Adams will attend a conference in D.C. Wednesday, where he says there will be a chance to unite the mayors whose cities are impacted by the migrant surge.
Adams says it’s simply not fair for the cities to be left to deal with this crisis alone.
He is expected to talk about his experience in El Paso this past weekend in one of the sessions of the America Conference of Mayors.
In Texas, Adams met migrants, visited a shelter, and spoke with city leaders and border agents. He received a firsthand look at just how dire the situation along with southern border is.
“We’re going to fight so that you can experience the American dream,” he said.
That was his promise to a group of migrants gathered outside a church as El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser showed him around.
Adams says that the resources required to make that promise a reality are simply not coming in quickly enough to keep up with the flood of migrants that make a beeline to New York.
Many asylum seekers from El Paso have been showing up to Port Authority on buses. This has left city leaders scrambling to keep up with the unprecedented need for resources to help them.
The state has responded to some of Adams’ requests, but Governor Kathy Hochul and the mayor both agree the federal government needs to step up. So far, he’s asked the federal government for $2 billion to help with the migrant influx, but the state will get far less from a federal grant.
“This is wrong. This is wrong. And for the federal government, and that is on both sides of the aisle, to not acknowledge that we are destabilizing our cities. I’m not going to remain silent on that. This is wrong for the cities of America to take this on,” Adams said.
The number of migrants coming into NYC has not slowed, even though border cities like El Paso have seen a decrease in asylum seekers as the Supreme Court weighs Title 42.
More than 40,000 migrants have arrived in the city since last April, overwhelming the shelters and forcing the mayor to declare a state emergency last year.