Aug 8, 2022 - Politics & Policy

New York mayor asks for federal aid as Texas buses in migrants

Rebecca Falconer

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Billie Holiday Theatre in Restoration Plaza on July 28, 2022 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. — New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a July 28 news conference in Brooklyn. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Mayor Eric Adams of New York called for federal assistance Sunday as he criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending charter buses of migrants to the city.

Driving the news: The Republican governor has expanded to New York City a program that has bussed migrants to Washington as part of a protest against the Biden Administration's border policies.

Adams was at the Port Authority bus terminal to meet some of the migrants sent from Texas on Sunday.

By the numbers: Local officials estimate more than 4,000 migrants have sought asylum in New York since May, per Politico.

What they're saying: Adams accused Abbott in a statement of using "innocent people as political pawns to manufacture a crisis."

"New Yorkers are stepping up to fix it — that's our city's values," Adams said. "But we need the federal government’s help — money, technical assistance and more."

The other side: Representatives for Abbott couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but the governor said in a statement Friday that New York City, in addition to Washington, D.C., "is the ideal destination" for migrants.

He said they "can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city."

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New York mayor asks for federal aid as Texas buses in migrants

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