New York City Mayor Eric Adams again called out the Biden administration and the federal government over its ‘baffling’ inability to address the Big Apple’s migrant crisis.
Adams, a Democrat, has often clashed with the president and Democrats in Washington, constantly begging Washington for money to solve a disaster that he claimed will ‘destroy my city.’
It comes alongside the news there are now over 67,000 migrants living in the city’s shelter system, over triple the 21,300 at this time last year.
In a Sunday interview, Adams was asked why his fellow Democrats in DC have ignored his repeated, in-person pleas to help, the mayor said he was at a loss and the migrant problem had spread to other cities.
‘I find it baffling because now you are hearing the coalitions that started with Eric, now it has gone to Chicago, Massachusetts, Denver… so many municipalities are joining me and saying this is impacting our city, so I’m not sure why we’re not seeing a response’ Adams told ABC 7.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams again called out the Biden administration and the federal government over it’s ‘baffling’ inability to address the Big Apple’s migrant crisis
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People stand outside the Roosevelt Hotel, which has acted as a makeshift shelter for arriving migrants since May, in the Midtown section of New York City
Adams, once seen as a potential rising star for the party, took it a step further and suggested he would have the fix – which he says Democrats have ‘underestimated’ – if he was president.
His ‘real decompression strategy’ would ship migrants from the border throughout the country and give them a three-year deadline to get themselves settled.
‘We tell them, “Here’s where you’re going to go for a three-year period to stabilize yourself.”
‘This way, instead of having 140,000 coming here or a thousand coming to Chicago, we’re spreading it out throughout the entire country,’ he added.
Adams says the good would outweigh the bad if you simply spread the migrants around.
‘We have 108,000 towns, villages, cities across America. In my view, many people are dealing with population issues, employment issues and they want migrants and asylum seekers that can work because we are a city and a country of immigrants.’
The Senate has pushed off its holiday recess to work on a border security and foreign aid package in what could be a breakthrough on immigration policy – that has not been dealt with by Congress in decades.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and fellow New Yorker, said talks had made ‘good progress’ on Thursday on a package that would include money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and would bolster border security measures in exchange.
There are now over 67,000 migrants living in the city’s shelter system, over triple the 21,300 at this time last year
Hundreds of migrants arrive at the border between Mexico and the United States seeking humanitarian asylum, while the Texas National Guard strives to prevent irregular crossings in Ciudad Juarez
One idea under consideration is to allow Homeland Security officials to stop migrants from applying for asylum at the southern border if the total number of crossings on a day exceeds 5,000.
Hardliners on both sides of the aisle in the House are expected to oppose the deal: conservative Republicans will say it doesn’t live up to H.R. 2, their party-line immigration bill and that they oppose Ukraine aid in general. Progressive Democrats will oppose border restrictions.
In New York, Adams has introduced a 30-day limit for single adults in temporary shelter housing.
The mayor’s administration has been struggling to deal with a massive surge of migrants that has seen over 140,000 arrive since last year.
‘I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City,’ Adams declared in September.
Adams has estimated the city will spend $12 billion over the next three years to handle the influx, setting up large-scale emergency shelters, renting out hotels and providing various government services for migrants.
Earlier this month the Democrat announced a $110.5 billion budget, claiming cuts across all departments were necessary after the city spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 on the migrant crisis.
The budget cuts would cause NYPD officers to be cut by a fifth, or 13.5 percent, by postponing the next five academy classes, bringing officers below 30,000 – down from 36,000.
Adam’s administration has been struggling to deal with a massive surge of migrants that has seen over 140,000 arrive since last year
Hundreds of asylum seekers waiting for accommodation lined 7th street and Avenue B in Manhattan in November
Ibrahim, from Chad, (far left) has been waiting for five days to be given new temporary housing, and claimed officials keep telling him to come back the next day
Many of the migrants DailyMail.com spoke to recalled a man getting hypothermic while waiting and being taken to the hospital after 911 was called
Education would also take a $1 billion hit over two years and it would cause a delay in the rollout of composting in the Bronx and Staten Island, causing reduced trash pick-ups as well as cuts to the city’s pre-K programs.
The New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library also would need to eliminate Sunday service due to the budget cut.
‘Without sufficient funding, we cannot sustain our current levels of service, and any further cuts to the Libraries’ budgets will, unfortunately, result in deeper service impacts,’ the libraries said in a statement.
The cuts would also decrease funding for two children’s programs: summer school and universal prekindergarten.
Adams has long warned about the potential of budget cuts to help offset the rise in costs for housing migrants. He has pleaded with the federal government for more resources, but they have fallen on deaf ears.