Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday placed limits on how immigrants can come to New York for the first time, pushing back against the Texas governor's repeated efforts to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to the city.
In an executive order, Mr. Adams required charter bus companies to give 32 hours' advance notice of a bus being picked up in the city and restricted the hours of the day when immigrants could be dropped off.
The change comes after 14 busloads of migrants from Texas arrived overnight last week in a year-and-a-half crisis that has consumed the Adams administration, the highest number on record since the spring of 2022.
During a virtual news conference with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Mr. “We cannot allow our buses of people in need to arrive without warning at any time of the day or night,” Adams said. “To be clear, this is not to stop people from coming, but to ensure the safety of immigrants and ensure they arrive in a coordinated and orderly way.”
Companies that violate the executive order face Class B misdemeanor charges, which can result in up to three months in jail and a $500 fine for individuals and $2,000 for corporations. Buses violating the order may also be impounded by the police.
At the news conference, the three mayors again demanded that the federal government grapple with its dysfunctional immigration system. Mr. Johnston said Denver has received more than 35,000 immigrants, with 4,000 overstaying, creating a crisis that consumes nearly 10 percent of the city's budget. The federal government called for a more even distribution of asylum seekers across the country to speed up work authorizations, provide more financial assistance, and create a unified entry program.
“We cannot continue to do the work of the federal government,” said Mr. Adams said.
White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said President Biden is “committed to addressing this problem,” and the administration has helped set up hospitals to apply for immigrant work authorization and temporary protected status that have served 10,000 people. It has asked Congress for additional funding for immigration response and border security.
Mr. of Adams Administrative order Recently Texas Governor Greg Abbott was precisely targeted Agreed sent 25,000 immigrants to New York City. New York City has since processed more than 160,000 immigrants, many of them from Venezuela. About 70,000 people are under the city's care, according to the mayor's office.
The order cited specific concerns about the city's ability to care for immigrants who arrive overnight or on the weekend and may need immediate shelter and services.
“People get off the bus in shorts and flip-flops,” said Joshua Goldfein, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society. “The city does not get real-time information about when and where these buses will arrive.”
New York City estimates that guaranteeing homeless people a right to shelter would cost $12 billion over three years. Mr. Adams has responded with cuts to city services that his critics describe as draconian.
Most recently after the city of Chicago established Texas responded with similar regulations on bus companies Sends buses Mr. Instead of the suburbs of Chicago, according to Johnson.
The buses were “literally dropping families off in the middle of the street,” causing “an incredible amount of chaos.”
By sending buses to locations outside of New York City, Mr. It's unclear whether Abbott will follow a similar playbook. Mr. A spokesman for Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If that happens, “it will only highlight the indifference and complete indifference to the welfare of the people traveling in these buses,” said Mr. Goldfein said.
Mr. Johnston said, so that they would not arrive “in the middle of the night” with children kept in the “freezing cold”.
In the spring, Mr. Adams tried to send immigrants north of the city, causing an uproar among upstate county executives. They immediately issued dozens of executive orders in an attempt to block the entry of immigrants.
Daniel McCoy, Albany County Executive, said his county already has about 700 immigrants living and capacity. He said he's not sure what he'd do if a bus from Texas showed up at his county door.
“We have to deal with it,” he said.
According to the terms of the executive order, buses can drop migrants only between 8:30 am and 12 noon, Monday to Friday. People must be dropped off at a designated location in the Times Square area or at another location approved by city officials.
Bus operators must keep track of how many of their passengers have arrived in the United States in the past 90 days and may seek emergency shelter. The manifest must also document how many migrants are traveling as single adults or as part of a family.
“We're actually saying to bus operators and companies, 'Don't participate in Governor Abbott's actions,'” Mr. Adams said. “We want them to take responsible corrective action.”
