Mayor Adams’ Border Trip & Scapegoating, Strategic Distraction From His Own Legal Problems

New York, NY—Today, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced he would be traveling to the Southern border, as well as repeating his calls for making deportation easier.

Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:

“At a moment when Mayor Adams is under increasing scrutiny for his own legal issues, he is once again trying to deflect attention from his problems by scapegoating immigrants. There is no reason for Mayor Adams to be traveling to the border on the taxpayers’ dime when there is work to be done in New York City. This is just another PR stunt designed to show him as a strongman on immigration, when he has no power over any federal policy or ability to persuade vulnerable people seeking safety to not do so in New York – nor will this effort solve New York’s affordability crisis. Moreover, his statement suggesting that America needs a ‘pathway to deportation’ simply displays his own ignorance about our criminal and immigration justice systems and how it actually works. Instead of scapegoating asylum seekers, Mayor Adams should give real leadership a try.”