Asylum seekers dropped off in Trenton to bypass rules set by New York City's mayor
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) – Four buses carrying 163 asylum seekers arrived at the Trenton Transit Center early Saturday morning.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said the buses were unloaded under the cover of darkness — between 4:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. — and that he was unaware it was happening until after they had left.
"We don't want this to happen again, but I don't know how it can be prevented," Gusciora said.
Officials in New Jersey are tracking buses arriving at various suburban transit centers — filled with asylum seekers — who then quickly board trains and buses to New York City.
These drop-offs are said to be an effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to evade an executive order issued by New York City's mayor requiring buses to arrive only during designated hours, at specific locations, and with at least 32 hours notice.
Trenton's mayor said his city is not set up to handle the sudden influx.
"We don't have housing space or emergency sheltering, and because we don't even have any notice we can't even provide humanitarian care — food or medicine," Gusciora said.
On Facebook, Edison's Mayor Sam Joshi took a firm stance, vowing to charter a bus of his own to "transport the illegal migrants right back to the southern Texas/Mexican border."
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said his office is closely coordinating with federal and local partners.
"It is important that we secure our borders, but also deal with this crisis in a humanitarian way," Gusciora said.
It's unclear if any more buses are scheduled to arrive in the coming days and weeks.
