Governors DeSantis and Abbott have proven that they can be bipartisan leaders!
They have both been subject to unrelenting criticism from the media and the Left for their policy of shipping migrants who illegally entered the country to sanctuary cities such as New York and Washington D.C.
Yet Democrat Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, though, apparently thinks they have the right idea.
NEW YORK — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis plans to send migrants to major cities including New York, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday, warning that the nation’s largest city is already struggling to deal an influx of people sent from Texas and other Republican-led states.
However, the Democratic governor told POLITICO shortly afterward that the state has been helping asylum seekers reach their final destinations — including New York City — for weeks. The only change has been a recent winter storm and ensuing travel catastrophe that created a backlog of migrants wanting to leave Denver, which is now being cleared.
So Mayor Adams wasn’t informed by Polis that he has been shipping migrants to New York City for weeks? Isn’t that one of the reasons why Abbott and DeSantis have gotten so much criticism? Mayor Adams didn’t get the memo from Polis about how Colorado has been shipping him migrants. Apparently it isn’t just Republicans who are fed up with getting problems dumped in their laps by the federal government.
“We were notified yesterday that the governor of Colorado is now stating that they are going to be sending migrants to places like New York and Chicago,” Adams said during a radio appearance. “This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation.”
An aide to Adams said the mayor’s administration was told about the influx Monday evening.
Like many major cities around the country, Denver has been struggling to provide services for a surge of people who have fled their home countries in Central and South America, crossed the southern border and sought asylum in the United States. Last month, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared a state of emergency and later appealed to the local Catholic archdiocese for assistance. He and Polis — both Democrats — also launched a fund to raise money to support services for migrants.
In total, Polis said the state has recently made $4 million available to assist with expenses. And while most asylum seekers who arrive in Denver are traveling to other destinations, the cost of helping them purchase bus tickets constitutes a fraction of the overall pot of cash.
Mayor Adams’ complaint shouldn’t be directed at any of the governors; he should direct his ire where it belongs: at President Biden and his administration.
What we are witnessing here is a massive game of hot potato, where everybody is passing off the problems that always come with influxes of refugees. It is easy to sympathize with everybody involved here because the problems involved are very real, but the fact is that only Abbott and DeSantis have a leg to stand on in this matter.
DeSantis and Abbott have both made it clear that their states are not and do not intend to be “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants. That hasn’t been the case for the others involved. The virtue signaling from the Left on this issue has been laid bare: they love to “welcome” illegal immigrants until the moment they have to deal with the consequences.
They want it to be somebody else’s problem. As Mayor Adams said, “This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation.”
Except that is exactly what he and the moral midgets of the pro-migrant Left have been forcing on the border states. They are all for open borders, as long as it is Red states who pick up the tab. As soon as they have to chip in the whining begins. If it’s not fair for New York City, why on earth is it fair for El Paso?
The Democrats own this problem, and they should gracefully accept their role as providers of sanctuary. Or, perhaps, admit that open borders aren’t such a great idea.
Polis said that most officials dealing with an influx of migrants have been acting in good faith.
“Too many people, in our opinion, view this through a political lens or as playing politics — and it’s terrible that in some places, people have been used as political props,” he said. “But what we are doing here is just honoring our values by treating people with dignity and respect.”
Adams said Tuesday around 30,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring in need of food, shelter and education — a surge that has has stretched the city’s social service infrastructure to the breaking point and opened up huge risks for the municipal budget. Adams, along with the two Colorado leaders, have called on the federal government to provide assistance to localities dealing with the influx.
“No city should have to make a decisions if they’re going to provide for their citizens — particularly coming out of Covid — or if they’re going to deal with an onslaught of migrants and asylum seekers,” he said.
It’s good to see that Polis, unlike Abbott and DeSantis, is not using the migrants as “political props.” He is doing exactly the same thing they have been–sending migrants to other places–but he is doing it as an act of respect or something.
He did it secretly, not openly. That makes it morally superior, right?
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