Democrat-led cities dealing with migrants bused in from the United States’ southern border with Mexico say they have hit a breaking point, pleading with the Biden administration to help them manage an influx that has overloaded state and local resources, according to a report by Politico. This latest development comes despite White House officials maintaining that the border is fully secured.
The concerns resulted in Democratic infighting after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis planned to send migrants from Denver to New York and Chicago, straining shelters, schools, and health services. Mayor Adams continued criticizing Democratic state leaders Wednesday for sending migrants to his city.
"One time, we had to deal with Republican governors sending migrants to New York. Now we are dealing with Democratic governors sending migrants to New York," said Adams at a news conference.
Adams stated that he had to make a "tough decision on the resources of New York" concerning the migrant influx crisis, calling on the federal government to "step up."
According to reports, the White House has been in contact with Adams and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ramping up support for cities. The mayors of New York and Chicago have begged for federal assistance after Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas bused thousands of migrants to these cities from the southern border last year. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis followed by flying dozens of mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard in September.
Since September, New York officials have asked the administration for help on multiple fronts, including funding, helping to convene local and state leaders to discuss relocation of asylum seekers, and relaxation of work requirements so migrants can obtain jobs.
Even as Biden administration officials point to hundreds of millions of dollars to help with the migrant crisis, it is still unclear how the funds would be allocated and how much will specifically reach New York City.
Experts familiar with the border crisis say that the administration's continued silence on Democrats' appeals indicates that the President has limited resources to deal with record levels of migrants crossing. The President is scheduled to travel next week to Mexico City, where he will meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss the border crisis.
Mayor Adams said Wednesday that his city would continue to support migrants but warned that space and resources were decreasing.
"I don’t know if we understand the magnitude of dropping 30,000 people in the city that’s already gone through a crisis," said Adams.
When asked if he agreed with Chicago Mayor Lor Lightfoot's criticism of Polis, Adams said she was "correct."
"When I spoke to her yesterday, she said, "Eric, you know, we have been a little too patient. You know, we cannot do anything to embarrass our families, but it is about time we started to do that.””
The ongoing border dilemma has intensified for the Biden administration in recent weeks. Several days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked lifting the Title 42 policy, which allows the federal government to expel migrants without considering their asylum claims.
In Congress, Republican and Democratic senators and representatives have issued their grievances with the administration's handling of the border crisis, calling on the President and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to oversee the issue. With the new GOP-led House sworn in, Republican representatives plan to investigate the ongoing crisis in demanding more transparency on the issue.
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