New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced this Thursday that he will sue more than a dozen transportation and charter bus companies involved in transporting migrants to the city.
Adams specifically seeks $708 million in damages generated to the city by the economic effort that the great metropolis has made to manage the presence of more than 160,000
people who have arrived on buses sent from Texas by order of its governor, Greg Abbott.
This is the second measure announced by the mayor in a few days to confront a wave of immigration driven from Texas, taking advantage of the sanctuary nature of New York.
However, the buses have continued to arrive without interruption to the other side of the Hudson River, in New Jersey. From there the migrants continue their journey to the Big Apple.
“New York City has and will always do its part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of the reckless political schemes of the state of Texas alone,” Adams said in a statement Thursday.
“Today we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have participated in Texas Governor Abbott’s plan to transport tens of thousands of immigrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system.”
The lawsuit indicates that the companies have violated New York state law by not paying the cost of caring for migrants, for which it seeks more than $700 million in damages.
Mayor Adams is relying on a state regulation that requires anyone who brings a person in need to help or remove them from the state because they are becoming a public charge.
“Governor Abbott’s continued use of immigrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane, it makes clear that he puts politics before people. Today’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to all those who violate the law this way,” Adams said.
Along with Adams, the mayors of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, and Denver, Mike Johnston, have harshly criticized the Texas governor and his campaign to send asylum seekers to cities governed by Democratic mayors, saying that the buses arrive at all hours and outside designated drop-off areas, with no details on who is on board or measures to ensure their safety.
“We cannot allow buses with people who need our help to arrive without prior notice at any time of the day or night,” said Adams, at the virtual press conference with the other mayors a few days ago.
Denver and Chicago have implemented similar rules regarding the arrival of asylum seekers on weekdays during specific hours.
More than 161,000 immigrants have arrived in New York since spring 2022. As it is a sanctuary city, it has an obligation to shelter any homeless person.
Local officials estimate the influx of migrants will cost the city about $12 billion over three years.
With information from The Associated Press.
“They send us adrift”: the drama of the migrants sent by bus to New York by the governor of Texas
2024-01-04 20:45:00
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