NYC Mayor Eric Adams slams Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's "horrific" busing of migrants
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending migrants on buses to Democratic-run cities in the U.S., calling Abbott's actions "unimaginable."
Adams made the remarks Sunday as he greeted a bus carrying 14 asylum seekers from Texas border towns at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Their arrival followed 40 others who arrived on Friday.
It is just a small portion of asylum seekers that have been transported from border towns since April, when Abbott began putting migrants on buses to Democrat-run cities after Biden's efforts to end Title 42, a pandemic-related emergency policy that enables border agents to expel migrants quickly.
After welcoming the families to New York City, Adams slammed Abbott for using the families as political pawns.
"When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who are fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we've always welcomed that," Adams said. "This governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to send the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families."
Adams said some of the families on the bus were forced to be there and not allowed to go where they wanted.
"This is horrific when you think about what the governor is doing, the governor of Texas, after months of traveling across the border, placing them on the bus with no direction," Adams said.
In a statement on Friday, Abbott defended Operation Lone Star, claiming it has filled in the "dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border."
"Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 290,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,000 criminal arrests, with more than 15,400 felony charges reported," Abbott's statement read. "In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 325.9 million lethal doses throughout the state. Texas has also transported over 6,500 migrants to the nation's capital — and now New York City — since beginning the busing mission in April to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities."
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rejected a request from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for the National Guard to help receive migrants bused to Washington, D.C.
The Pentagon said that providing the requested support would negatively impact the readiness of the D.C. National Guard and have adverse effects on the guard and its members, a U.S. defense official said in a statement.
