New York’s mayor says the city has “no room” for more migrants

The mayor of New York traveled to the Mexican border to declare that there is “no place” in the city for the busloads of migrants being sent to the state from Texas.

During an unprecedented trip to the southern border city of El Paso on Sunday, Eric Adams told newcomers that America’s most populous city was full.

Mr Adams, a centrist Democrat who has been critical of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, called for emergency federal aid and said New York was at “breaking point”.

In recent months, buses of migrants have been sent north to New York and other so-called sanctuary cities such as Chicago and Washington DC by Republican-run Texas and Florida.

“New York can’t take any more,” Adams said. ‘We can’t. Our cities are being undermined — we don’t deserve this,” the mayor said, before adding: “We expect more from our national leaders to deal with this in a real way.”

More than 40,000 people, mostly from Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, arrived in New York City unexpectedly in the past year after illegally entering the US from Mexico, straining both the city’s budget and its homeless shelter system. put.

Republican governors have argued that sending the migrants to other parts of the country eases border communities overwhelmed by Biden’s lax immigration policies. But opponents have denounced the move, claiming the migrants were being used as political pawns.

The inflow has been Adams’ biggest problem since taking office a year ago.

The city has set up 74 shelters and four processing centers to house the newcomers, including in repurposed hotels, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion (£820,290).

In his remarks on Sunday, the 62-year-old former police chief said only Congress can provide a long-term plan to control migration along the southern border.

“Real, real immigration reform will come through the Senate, Congress and the White House,” he said.

However, Mr Adams’s visit drew criticism from some quarters. Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller, wrote on Twitter:

Rather than “undermining” our city, immigrants have been the driving force behind NYC’s success for centuries.

— Brad Lander (@bradlander) January 16, 2023

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