'New York cannot take more' - Mayor Adams blasts federal response to migrant crisis

NYC Mayor Adams blasts U.S. government over migrant crisis

During his visit to El Paso, Texas over the weekend, Mayor Eric Adams made a push to speed up the process for migrants to get their working papers, blasting federal leaders for not urgently seeking solutions to the migrant crisis.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered a strong message to the federal government this weekend, saying that the city is at capacity when it comes to accepting new migrant arrivals.

"New York cannot take more," Mayor Eric Adams said in El Paso, Texas. "We expect more from our national leaders to address this issue in a real way."

While touring the border, Adams blasted federal leaders for not urgently pursuing solutions to the migrant crisis.

Over 40,000 migrants have arrived in the city since last April, with more than 400 migrants arriving every day just last week.

The Mayor now estimates that the migrant crisis will cost the city $2 billion, double what he originally predicted.

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Adams wants the federal government to cover these costs in full – something that Congress still won’t commit to.

"We are not pointing the finger at El Paso, we're not pointing the finger at Houston," Adams said. "We're pointing the finger where it should be pointed and that's at our national government."

Adams also wants Congress to fast-track work permits for migrants.

Right now, a migrant entering the country must apply for asylum and then wait 180 days for a work permit.

But Camille Mackler, the Executive Director at Immigrant Arc says due to backlogs in the immigration system, many migrants are waiting over a year to even apply for asylum.

"Saying speed up the 180 days isn't what's going to fix it," Mackler said. "We're looking at people needing to wait one to two years to even be able to file that form."

But Adams is facing criticism for his trip to the border, a few days after blaming the influx of migrants for recent cuts to city services.

"He can spend time strategizing, talking with asylum seekers in New York City to better understand what they need," Daniel Altschuler with Make the Road New York explained. "But instead of that, he's going in search of national photo ops to try to present himself as a national political figure and that's not a solution and it's not acceptable."

Adams will be in Washington DC later this week at the United States Conference of Mayors where he plans to address this issue again.