Migrant ‘crisis’ prompts New York City to declare emergency
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has declared a state of emergency in response to a “crisis situation” brought on by an inflow of migrants.
Since April, more than 17,000 people have entered the city from the southern border.
Recent months have seen a migration of people from Republican states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida to Democratic regions.
As record numbers of individuals cross into the US from Mexico, there has been a dispute with the White House about it.
At a press conference on Friday, Adams stated that since September, an average of five to six buses have been arriving in the city each day. According to him, one out of every five residents of the city’s shelter system is currently looking for refuge.
Many of those coming are families with children in school and are in urgent need of medical attention, he said.
The mayor is requesting federal and state assistance to help with the bills because the surge is expected to cost New York $1 billion (£900 million) this fiscal year, as reported by BBC.
“New Yorkers are angry,” said Mayor Adams. “I am angry too. We have not asked for this. There was never any agreement to take on the job of supporting thousands of asylum seekers.”
He added: “The city is going to run out of funding for other priorities. New York City is doing all we can, but we are reaching the outer limit of our ability to help.”
He continued, “Others are exploiting the city’s social services for political benefit.”
Texas, Arizona, and Florida are the three states that have sent migrants to districts with a Democratic majority, concentrating on so-called “sanctuary” communities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Republican authorities in border areas claim the strategy aims to lessen the effects of immigration flows.
Additionally, they claim that the proposal is intended to put more pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to take additional steps to curb the record-breaking number of migrants entering the US through the southern border this year.
