Eric Adams: Migrants are coming to every community, "it's like hardball"

AP Photo/Brittainy Newman

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told city residents that migrants seeking asylum are arriving at such a pace that every community will see shelters for them. His message was that everyone has to suck it up and accept the fact that this is happening. In order to accommodate those arriving on migrant buses, every community will have to help in a citywide crisis.

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Welcome to the real world, Mayor Adams.

The whole reason that migrant buses are arriving in sanctuary cities in the first place is because the southern border is overwhelmed with illegal migrants by the thousands each and every week. Border states like Texas and Arizona have been left on their own, for the most part, to deal with the Biden border crisis. So, Governors Abbott and Ducey agree with Mayor Adams – everyone is going to have to share the burden because the Biden administration has no intention of securing the southern border.

Sanctuary cities should be the first to be called upon to accept illegal migrants because they allegedly have no problem with people breaking our immigration laws and expecting to be able to remain in the United States just because they crossed the border. Suddenly, though, once NYC and Washington, D.C., and Chicago began receiving migrant buses, the mayors began complaining about the burdens it places on cities. No kidding. That’s the point.

Mayors Adams and Bowser declared states of emergency in their cities. The mayors are even speaking out about the Biden border crisis now, calling on the Biden administration to do its job and stop the flood of migrants crossing the border. Funny how that happens. In the meantime, he’s giving a heads-up to the entire city.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams told residents Tuesday that they will see migrant emergency shelters in ‘every community’ in the city, and they should expect to see them ‘without warning.’

Adams noted that every borough would be ‘impacted’ by the crisis during a news conference at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx.

‘Every community is going to see asylum-seekers,’ Adams said.

‘This is a citywide crisis and all of us are going to be impacted and Staten Island is going to be impacted like the other four boroughs,’ he added.

The mayor has noted that the city’s shelters are already near 100 percent capacity, with about 61,000 people in the system, 20,000 of which are children.

‘As the emergency comes, we have to make these on-the-ground moves and make sure that we deal with the crisis that’s in front of us,’ he said.

He also said he was having to play ‘hardball,’ because ‘a lot of people have not really dealt with emergencies before.’

Mayor Adams is asking for $1 billion in federal funding to handle the cost of providing resources and shelter for the migrants. He said he is receiving calls from elected officials asking that their communities be spared but Adams said, “that just can’t happen.” Adams has taken some unusual steps to find housing for them. He has even begun to negotiate with a cruise line to house the migrants on a cruise ship. So far, the tent cities being put up are not off to a great start.

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Adams is learning the hard way that it is not as simple as just declaring a city as a sanctuary city. If you invite them in, they will come. The illegal migrants aren’t just crossing the border with plans to remain in Texas or Arizona, they are coming to the United States. Many come with plans to go to other cities across the country. The governors of Texas and Arizona are providing free transportation to those who have been released by Border Patrol and allowed to remain in the country until their claims for asylum are fully processed and ruled on. Border Patrol releases them, usually with information on how to contact ICE to check in and keep track of upcoming court dates, though not always. Most have no money or provisions so they are at the mercy of local communities. That is where taxpayers come in. There are not enough charities or non-profits to handle the need, so taxpayers pay for housing them and providing food and medical care, along with education for the children. The Texas Legislature approved $2B for border security in 2021.

The buses will continue to go to New York. Adams is discovering how quickly those numbers grow.

As of Sunday, more than 18,600 migrants have been processed by the Department of Homeless Services, which was operating 46 emergency shelters in hotels, City Hall said Tuesday.

Last month, Adams predicted that the migrant population could soon reach 75,000 and he said Friday that 100,000 people would likely be living in shelters within months.

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There is no end in sight until Democrats put enough pressure on the Biden administration to secure the southern border. I’m not holding my breath.

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