New York City mayor Eric Adams is being eviscerated by critics after he claimed migrants could fill lifeguard openings because they are ‘excellent swimmers.’
‘How do we have a large body of people in our city that are excellent swimmers and at the same time we need lifeguards,’ the Democrat said at a City Hall briefing on Tuesday.
‘And the only obstacle is that we won’t give them the right to work to become a lifeguard. That just doesn’t make sense.’
Critics were quick to respond to Adams’ comments, with many accusing him of racism, with New York’s Immigration coalition said the mayor’s comments were dehumanizing and divisive.
‘New Yorkers are looking for Mayor Adams to unite our city, not foment more division,’ said CEO Murad Awawdeh.
‘His comments imply that because some immigrants had to swim or wade across water on their dangerous journeys to seek safety in the US, that they would make good lifeguards. This comment is racist.’
New York City mayor Eric Adams is being eviscerated by critics after he claimed migrants could fill lifeguard openings because they are ‘excellent swimmers’
Social media users also weighed in on the controversy, slamming Adams for his remarks.
X user Michelle Backus wrote: ‘You can’t make this stuff up…’
‘That’s a parody right…. right?’ said another X user.
‘He really needs to stop talking to the press,’ added another critic.
Despite the heat, Adams’ office has stood by his comments, with his communications chief Fabien Levy clapping back The City journalist Katie Honan when she questioned whether Adams was ‘familiar with the months-long certification process to become a lifeguard?’
Levy shot back: ‘Hmm … odd to keep assuming the asylum seeker crisis will be done by the end of the summer. It’s been 2 years and we have no indication Texas will stop sending migrants to NYC, yet there has been lifeguard shortages the whole time we’ve been in office.’
Adams is no stranger to controversial statements – last December he found himself in hot water after he invoked 9/11 to describe his year and emphasize the city’s greatness.
New York’s Immigration coalition said the mayor’s comments were dehumanizing and divisive
The New York City leader said the deficit could be solved if work permits for migrants could be expedited. Pictured: Honduran migrants heading to thee US, await for fellow migrants to jump from the Guatemala-Mexico international border bridge into the Suchiate river in 2018
More than 180,000 migrants have arrived in New York since Spring of 2022. Pictured: Recently arrived migrants get on a bus outside Floyd Bennett Field shelter on February 21, 2024
More than 180,000 migrants have arrived in New York since Spring of 2022, many making perilous journeys across bodies of water such as the Rio Grande river before traveling north.
However, Adams insisted it is not just much-needed lifeguard vacancies that could be filled by granting migrants the right to work.
‘If we had a migrant and asylum seeker plan that states those jobs that we are in high demand we could expedite,’ Adams said.
‘If we had a plan that said, “If there was a shortage of food service workers and those who fit that criteria, we’re going to expedite you,” if you have experience that you are a nurse and we have nursing shortage, we would expedite you.’
New York City’s beaches are set to open on Memorial Day weekend.
Last year, the season opened with around 500 lifeguard vacancies unfilled leading to partial closures in parts.
Despite the heat, Adams’ office has stood by his comments, with his communications chief Fabien Levy clapping back The City journalist Katie Honan
Adams insisted it is not just much-needed lifeguard vacancies that could be filled by granting migrants the right to work
He suggested qualified migrants could fill nursing roles as well as fast food worker positions. Pictured: Migrants swim across the Rio Grande as they try to enter the United States March 10, 2023
Adams recently suggested that New York should overhaul its sanctuary city status. Pictured: Migrant family arriving at a Manhattan shelter on March 26, 2024
This year, the base rate of pay has been increase to $22, with an $1,000 bonus for any lifeguards who work through the peak season.
‘We have all these eligible people waiting to work with the skills we need to fill the jobs but we are unable to allow them to work because bureaucracy is in the way,’ Adams added.
New York has been designated a sanctuary city for the last few years, however Adams recently called for a radical overhaul of this designation as the city buckles under the strain of migrant arrivals.
He was accused of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on no-bid contracts that pay for-profit companies ‘exorbitant rates’ to manage emergency shelters for asylum-seeking migrants.