NYC mayor blasts Abbott over busing of migrants
WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Eric Adams slammed Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to bus migrants to New York over the weekend as “horrific,” accusing Abbott of “placing them on the bus with no direction.”
Adams made the comments to the press as he welcomed a bus Sunday that was carrying 14 migrants. It was the second bus to arrive in New York after Abbott expanded his busing program that has sent thousands of migrants from Texas border towns to D.C. since April.
“When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who are fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we've always welcomed that,” Adams said, according to CBS News. “This governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to send the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families.”
Abbott has described the busing program as “unprecedented action to keep our communities safe” and blasted President Joe Biden's “continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies.”
“In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,” Abbott said in a statement on Friday. “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.” The Department of Defense on Friday rejected D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's request for the National Guard to help with migrants arriving in the nation's capitol, which she has said is “overwhelmed” by Abbott's decision to send them there.
Local aid groups that are helping the more than 6,500 migrants who have arrived in D.C. say Abbott's effort to get Biden's attention is only creating a challenge for volunteers who have so far borne the brunt of the effort with virtually no help from local officials and only a small amount of federal aid.
“He wants to make Washington feel the pain. Yeah, but federal Washington is not feeling the pain,” said Abel Nuñez, executive director of the Central American Resource Center, which was among the first groups on the scene when buses began arriving in April. “It's inflicting it on local Washington — on people and communities that have nothing to do with the federal government.”