Mayor Adams visits U.S.-Mexico border to see migrant crisis first hand

NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Eric Adams was in El Paso, Texas Sunday to get a first-hand look at the migrant crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Adams toured shelters where asylum seekers are staying and met the city's mayor, Oscar Leeser, to see how they are handling the influx of newcomers in their city.

RELATED: NYC 'at our breaking point' as Adams asks state for migrant crisis assistance

Adams told a crowd outside a local church that he has been asking the federal government to expedite work authorizations for migrants, saying everyone deserves a chance at the American Dream.

Both New York City and El Paso have been strained by the waves of newcomers in recent months.

"This crisis had mayors pitted against each other, and that can't happen. No municipality should go through this. We're going to unite with one voice," Adams said.

RELATED: Biden visits US-Mexico border as migrant crisis spirals

Since the summer, Adams has been asking the federal government to step in and help financially. Last month, FEMA gave the city nearly $8M in aid to help cover some of the costs incurred from the migrant crisis, but Adams says it's not enough.

"I'm extremely disappointed in what we have done to the cities of this country and the impression that we're not seeing a level of urgency of getting this issue resolved," Adams said.

On Friday, Adams requested immediate relief from the state, asking to help shelter asylum seekers in locations outside of the five boroughs. 

Adams says the city is on track to spend over $1B housing the roughly 40,000 migrants who have arrived in New York over the past months.

On Saturday, Governor Kathy Hochul said the state will continue to aid the city financially, however, she didn't make clear if that included housing people outside the city.