New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants to know why out of 180,000 cities in America, buses of migrants have only been sent to the cities led by Black mayors.
During The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” Festival, Adams expressed his dissatisfaction with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden on how the surge of migrants affects the city, questioning if there was some underlying message to Black leaders.
“It’s a failure of our national government, and it is really disrespectful what Governor Abbott is doing in Texas in placing this on the laps of New Yorkers,” Adams said.
Adams said he didn’t know if Abbott’s action was intended to be racist, but he is sticking with the facts. “The fact is, he had a hundred and seventy-five thousand other cities that he could have sent it to, but he decided to send it to cities that were already struggling, that happened to have Black mayors.”
According to Adams, the city is responsible for over 30,000 migrants, which includes those in homeless shelters and relief centers. Per WSJ, Texas loaded 52 state-chartered buses between April and September 2022 to transport nearly 2,650 people to New York City.
Adams also addressed Biden’s error on the issue. “I think President Biden has done a great job in the recovery of our city. But he’s wrong on this issue. You cannot allow people to come to this country, pursuing the American dream, and then set them up for failure in the process,” Adams said.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for the governor, said New York City and other northern cities were the location choices of migrants. “With millions of residents, New York is only dealing with a fraction of what our small border communities deal with on a day-to-day basis. The real crisis isn’t in New York City—it’s on our southern border,” Mahaleris said.
The New York Post reported that 1,300 migrants arrived in New York City between Sunday, April 23, to Wednesday, April 26. The surge that began on April 19 prompted eight new emergency shelters to open. Adams is seeking state and federal funding to cover nearly $4.3 billion worth of costs.