On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City sent an urgent mutual aid request to the state of New York asking for assistance in housing the asylum seekers.
On Sunday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded with the federal government to do more to help with the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
This weekend, El Paso’s Democratic mayor visited the border and met with his Republican and Democratic colleagues to examine the crisis’s effects on the city.
Following the mayor’s declaration on Friday that New York City had reached its “breaking point” due to the influx of migrants, this visit is no surprise. This weekend, Adams issued an urgent request for mutual aid to New York State, asking for assistance in housing the asylum seekers.
The city received over 3,100 asylum applicants the previous week, with over 800 coming on Thursday alone, prompting the declaration.
Adams, who appeared at a news conference with El Paso’s mayor Oscar Leeser on Sunday afternoon, claimed that New York City wasn’t blaming anyone border city for making the situation worse.
Adams declared, “We’re pointing the finger… at our national government.” This has to be addressed on a national level. Real immigration reform is necessary, and a temporary solution must be found to ensure that the burden is not placed on local communities.
For their “uncoordinated efforts,” Adams criticized Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott for busing migrants to New York City.
“I think they had a bipartisan disregard for the cities, and it was wrong, and it should not happen, and it should not continue,” Adams said of the Democratic governor of Colorado and the Republican governor of Texas.
Adams claimed that many of the migrants read websites before coming to the United States, where they were given the erroneous idea that the streets of New York City are “carpeted with gold” and that they would be instantly granted jobs upon arrival.
To prepare migrants for their new lives, “we have to offer them proper information,” he added, adding that this responsibility should rest with the federal government.
The integrity of our urban centers is being threatened. This isn’t fair, either. In no way is this fair to migrants. Adams said that city dwellers did not merit such treatment. We need more from our government officials if they are serious about solving this problem.
Later this week, Adams will go to the nation’s capital to address the United States Conference of Mayors.