New York City Mayor Eric Adams filed a lawsuit on Thursday, seeking over $700 million from Texas charter bus companies to recoup expenses related to providing shelter, food, and healthcare for migrants transported to the city.
The lawsuit covers both past and anticipated future costs for migrants already in the city and those potentially transported later. The mayor’s office revealed that over 33,600 migrants have already been transported to the city from Texas. It targets 17 companies involved in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s alleged scheme to transport large numbers of migrants to overwhelm New York City’s social services system.
In a statement, Adams emphasized New York City’s commitment to managing the humanitarian crisis but pointed out the city’s inability to bear the financial burden of what he deemed as “reckless political ploys” from the state of Texas.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also blasted Abbott for authorizing a flight of immigrants sent from Texas to his city without any warning while lamenting over the lack of resources from the federal government to tackle the migrant crisis in the United States.
Recently, the Republican governor had flown migrants into Chicago, where they’d been placed in hotels and provided aid from city officials. On Sunday, Johnson said in a post on X that a private plane originating in San Antonio, Texas, “landed at the Rockford/Chicago airport carrying 350 asylum seekers.”
“There was no communication from Texas, and the City of Chicago was alerted by authorities in Rockford regarding the flight,” Johnson wrote. “Upon landing, asylum seekers were placed on buses chartered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and dropped in various surrounding suburbs, left to find their way to the city. This is the second recorded instance of the Texas governor transporting asylum seekers via private plane.”
Johnson’s post via X sparked criticism from mostly conservatives online. Political commentator and former U.S. congressional candidate Jack Lombardi II wrote on X: “Stop your BS, Mayor. You’re trying to pin this on @GregAbbott_TX, but it’s the Biden administration who’s behind this. Folks, Illinois lost a Congressional seat last census and will lose another seat due to the mass exodus from Illinois.”
But the issue has prompted Chicago residents to speak out during a city council meeting in November, demanding officials end its sanctuary city status, Fox 32 said.
The Texas governor has been sending migrants into Chicago since last year. In December, Chicago passed an ordinance penalizing people who drop off migrants without a permit, Fox 32 reported. Johnson has also sued many companies that transport migrants.
Meanwhile, Johnson cautioned that the entire nation will be negatively impacted unless President Joe Biden allocates more resources to address the migrant crisis inundating his city and other sanctuary cities during an interview on CNN, Fox 32 said.
The progressive mayor emphasized the need for coordinated action among leaders nationwide, emphasizing the necessity for substantial financial backing from the Biden administration. “What I have worked to do instead of having chaos is provide some structure and calm around the situation and, without significant federal support, this is not sustainable,” Johnson said. “I’ve said repeatedly we need more resources.”
“[W]ithout real significant investment from our federal government, it won’t just be the city of Chicago that won’t be able to maintain this mission; it’s the entire country that is now at stake,” Johnson added.
The Chicago mayor’s plea for assistance comes as an NAACP leader in Illinois was condemned for referring to migrants fleeing to the U.S. as “savages” who threaten Black and brown communities.
In a viral video, Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley expressed distaste toward Chicago’s designation as a so-called sanctuary city where thousands of immigrants have been sent by many GOP officials in other states.
“These immigrants have come over here, they’ve been raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes, they’re like savages,” Haley said.
“But once you agree to take that funding, that federal funding they’re bringing them to you. So, Springfield … the rest of us just get ready if you declared yourself to be a safe haven or a safe place for immigrants to come because they are shopping around and the bus loads are coming and we’re seeing families on the street and we’re like oh my God we’re not used to seeing families on the streets.
But Black people have been on the street streets forever and ever and nobody cares because they say that we’re drug addicts, we got mental health issues.”
Haley, 58, was suspended over her offensive comments about migrants, the Daily Mail reported. After the video went viral, Haley reportedly issued an apology, as did the civil rights group.
The migrant crisis is a major concern amongst some Black activists. In Chicago, set to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was preparing for as many as 25 migrant-filled buses daily, sparking calls from various groups to pause the influx, the Daily Beast reported.
In New York City, Adams has been heavily criticized for his handling of the migrant crisis. The city’s shelter mandate for unsheltered people allowed more than 100,000 migrants who arrived in 2022 to be in the city’s care. He has since paused that mandate.
