New York, NY—Last week, NYC Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order that placed limits on how buses of asylum seekers being sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott could arrive in New York City. Since issuing the order, buses have still arrived at Port Authority, to other parts of Manhattan, and increasingly in New Jersey. Adams is now calling on other local governments around New York City to issue their town similar executive orders.
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“Greg Abbott is engaged in a political game of one-upmanship, with no regard for its human impact. Eric Adams can and must do better than try to beat Abbott at his own bigoted political and inhumane games. It’s clear by now that the Mayor’s executive order has only created further chaos and confusion for newly arriving asylum seekers as well as throwing them into potentially harmful situations. Instead of advocating for similar measures which will put people's health and wellbeing in danger, Mayor Adams should be coordinating with local community based organizations who have already been welcoming new arrivals for over a year at all hours of day, night and on weekends. The Mayor’s message should be the same today as it was more than a year ago: ‘NYC will continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms, as we have always done.’ He should be reinforcing our city’s values by welcoming new arrivals with dignity, especially when another political official is determined to foment mayhem. When we invest in humane solutions, we’re exponentially investing in our future. But when Mayor Adams rips a page from Governor Abbott’s playbook, we all lose.”