New York City mayor restricts bus arrivals to stem migrant surge

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) issued an emergency executive order that restricts bus arrivals in the city to curb the migrant surge as more asylum-seekers are sent via bus from Texas.

Adams is requiring bus operators who know they are transporting migrants to the city with fares paid for “by a third party” to provide notice at least 32 hours ahead of their anticipated arrival.

Operators must provide the number of passengers on their bus and the number of passengers who will require emergency shelter and “other immediate services” upon their arrival. He also is asking for operators to provide the number of passengers who are children, according to the executive order released Wednesday.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, accompanied by Ingrid Lewis-Martin, his chief advisor, responds to questions during a news conference at New York’s City Hall, Nov. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Bus drivers also must provide their name and information on the bus “that could assist City employees with identifying the bus,” and they can only drop off passengers at designated locations during specific hours.

Adams has been sounding the alarm since last spring over what he said is a surge of more than 160,000 asylum-seekers into the city. He has criticized the Biden administration and called for federal help to handle the crisis.

The New York City mayor joined Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) on Wednesday in requesting federal aid to handle the influx of migrants sent to their cities by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

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Abbott has chartered buses and flights of thousands of migrants from Texas to primarily Democratic cities to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the increased immigration at the southern border.

“New York City has begun to see another surge of migrants arriving, and we expect this to intensify over the coming days as a result of Texas Governor Abbott’s cruel and inhumane politics,” Adams said in a statement this week.

Since October 2022, a state of emergency has been placed over the city for the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”

The latest order says passengers have been dropped off at random locations throughout Manhattan without notice to city officials, saying it is “hampering the city’s ability to manage this humanitarian crisis.” In the last month, more than 14,700 migrants have arrived in the city.

Adams said 14 “rogue buses” arrived from Texas on a single night last week, which is the highest one-day total recorded by city officials. The mayor said the executive order will help the city manage the incoming migrants “in an orderly way.”