On September 27, 2022, migrants arrive at the Port Authority bus station in New York. Michael Nagle / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
On Friday, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced a state of emergency in response to the "humanitarian disaster" of thousands of asylum seekers being brought to his city from other states.
According to a City Hall statement, Adams slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for exacerbating the situation and issued Emergency Executive Order 224, which directs "all relevant city agencies to coordinate their efforts to respond to the asylum seeker humanitarian crisis and construct the city's Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers."
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"We're talking about perhaps 100,000 individuals in the coming year, which is months away," Adams told reporters.
According to a City Hall statement, since "this humanitarian catastrophe began," New York City has established 42 hotels as emergency shelters and placed 5,500 migrant children in public schools in "rapid and immediate action" with "almost no cooperation with states sending them."
The mayor criticized Texas Gov. Abbott for exacerbating the crisis, claiming he's "lying" about his participation in transporting migrants to New York and is "untrustworthy."
On Friday, a spokeswoman for Abbott could not be reached for comment.
Abbott, several Republican governors, and at least one major city Democratic mayor have sent migrants to other states.
Adams urged all sides to strike an agreement and put an end to the unplanned movement of people.
"I think the issue is that the national government has to develop a decompression plan to guarantee that these asylum seekers are distributed around the country," Adams said. "We should all work together to solve this problem."
The mayor stated that local resources are being pushed thin as officials attempt to offer migrants with shelter, food, transportation, health care, and administrative support.
"New York has served as a paradigm for how to successfully use our infrastructure to solve a catastrophe while still treating people humanely," Adams added.
"So we're not saying, 'OK, here's what we have to do.' No. We're stating what we're ethically obligated to say."
The mayor also chastised municipal council members for reportedly demanding action on the inflow but refusing to bear any of the costs.
"'House members, but not in my district," Adams explained. "You can't have your cake and eat it."