(The Center Square) – After Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams blamed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for busing illegal foreign nationals from the border and creating a “crisis” in his city, he began the city’s first busing mission to New York suburbs.
Since last year, Texas has bused more than 5,700 illegal foreign nationals to New York City. The Democratic-run city of El Paso, Texas, has bused more than 10,700 to the Big Apple.
The mayor says the influx of foreign nationals is “destroying the city,” and for the first time on Thursday he began busing people to another county. In an unrelated news conference on Thursday, Adams said, “We are coordinating, explaining to our colleagues in the state that this is a statewide issue.” The city is paying for their transportation out, he said, and those being bused volunteered to do so, the exact same process as in Texas.
He also said the city was “communicating with the officials up there on what we’re doing,” referring to Orange County officials. “Some may not like it, but people can’t say we’re not communicating.”
His plan, to send them to conservative and Republican leaning counties of Rockland and Orange, north of the city, has already been met with a lawsuit.
Adams also is considering housing illegal foreign nationals in state university housing or a closed prison.
According to an audio call recording obtained by POLITICO, Adams said he needed help from neighboring counties as the city was already maxed out after providing “housing, food and other services to more than 65,000” people who were released into the U.S. by the Biden administration after they entered the U.S. illegally.
According to the recording, Republican Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio suggested Adams consider placing them in vacant housing at SUNY New Paltz and in a closed downstate correctional facility in Fishkill, in Dutchess County.
“It would take a little bit to make sure it don’t look like a prison because you don’t want it to look like we’re housing people in a prison, but that would be a great shelter,” Piaquadio said, according to POLITICO.
Adams replied, “Nothing is off the table. If anyone has alternative locations, we’re open to listening. We’re not taking anything off the table at all. We’re going to look at both of those locations you mentioned.”
Just 12 days earlier, Adams said that Abbott was “once again deciding to play politics with people’s lives” by busing many who’d been released into Texas and volunteered to be sent to New York City at no cost to them.
