New York City Mayor Eric Adams once again criticized the Biden administration and the federal government for their “stunning” inability to address the Big Apple's refugee crisis.
Adams, a Democrat, often clashed with the president and Democrats in Washington, constantly begging Washington for money to solve a disaster that he claimed would “destroy my city.”
Added to this is the news that over 67,000 migrants are now living in the city's shelter system, more than triple the 21,300 this time last year.
In a Sunday interview, Adams was asked why his fellow Democrats in D.C. had ignored his repeated personal pleas for help. The mayor said he was at a loss and that the migrant problem had spread to other cities.
“I find it confusing because now you hear the coalitions that started with Eric, now it's going to Chicago, Massachusetts, Denver…so many municipalities are joining me in saying this is impacting our city, so I am “Not sure.” “Why we're not seeing a response,” Adams told ABC 7.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams once again criticized the Biden administration and the federal government for their “stunning” inability to address the Big Apple's refugee crisis
People stand in front of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York's Midtown district, which has served as temporary accommodation for arriving migrants since May
Adams, once considered a potential rising star of the party, went a step further and suggested he would find the solution – something he said Democrats had “underestimated” – if he were president.
His “real decompression strategy” would send migrants from the border across the country and give them a three-year grace period to settle.
“We tell them, ‘This is where you’re going to go for a period of three years to stabilize.”
“That way we spread it across the country instead of 140,000 coming here or a thousand coming to Chicago,” he added.
Adams says the good would outweigh the bad if the migrants were simply distributed.
“We have 108,000 cities, towns and cities across America. “I think a lot of people are concerned with population and employment issues and want migrants and asylum seekers who can work because we are a city and a country of immigrants.”
The Senate has postponed its recess to work on a border security and foreign aid package that could mark a breakthrough in immigration policy – something Congress has not addressed in decades.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his fellow New Yorker said talks had made “good progress” Thursday on a package that would include money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in return for strengthening border security measures.
Hundreds of migrants are arriving at the Mexico-United States border seeking humanitarian asylum as the Texas National Guard tries to prevent irregular border crossings in Ciudad Juárez
One idea currently being considered is to allow Homeland Security officials to block migrants from seeking asylum at the southern border if the total number of border crossings in a day exceeds 5,000.
Hardliners on both sides of the House are expected to oppose the deal: Conservative Republicans will say it falls short of HR 2, their party's internal immigration bill, and that they generally oppose aid to Ukraine. Progressive Democrats will oppose border restrictions.
In New York, Adams implemented a 30-day limit for single adults in shelters.
The mayor's administration is struggling to cope with a massive influx of migrants, with more than 140,000 arriving since last year.
“I don't see an end to this.” “This issue will destroy New York City,” Adams said in September.
Adams estimates the city will spend $12 billion over the next three years to manage the influx by building large 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 on the refugee crisis in the 2023 fiscal year.
The budget cuts would result in the number of NYPD officers being cut by a fifth, or 13.5 percent, by postponing the next five academy classes, reducing the number of officers from 36,000 to under 30,000.
Adam's government is struggling to cope with a massive influx of migrants, with over 140,000 arriving since last year
Hundreds of asylum seekers waiting for housing lined 7th Street and Avenue B in Manhattan in November
Ibrahim from Chad (far left) has been waiting for new temporary accommodation for five days and claims officials kept telling him to come back the next day
Many of the migrants spoke to recalled a man who became hypothermic while waiting and was taken to the hospital after calling 911
Education would also absorb a $1 billion loss over two years and lead to a delay in implementing composting in the Bronx and Staten Island, leading to fewer trash pickups and cuts to the city's preschool programs.
The New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Public Library would also have to eliminate Sunday services due to the budget cuts.
“Without sufficient funding, we cannot maintain our current levels of service and any further reductions in libraries’ budgets will unfortunately result in a more serious impact on services,” the libraries said in a statement.
The cuts would also reduce funding for two children's programs: summer school and universal pre-kindergarten.
Adams has long warned about the possibility of budget cuts to offset rising costs to house migrants. He asked the federal government for more funding, but it fell on deaf ears.