Migrant Busing Plunges Sanctuary Cities into 'Crisis' Situations

Some Democratic-led cities are facing a "crisis" situation after receiving an influx of migrant buses from states led by Republican governors.

"My fellow New Yorkers, we are in a crisis situation. New York City now has more than 61,000 people in our shelter system. That includes thousands of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and thousands of asylum-seekers who have been bused in over the past few months from other parts of the country," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Friday.

Adams continued, "Hundreds of buses have arrived in New York City. Since early September, we have seen an average of five to six buses per day....We expect to spend at least $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year on this crisis. All because we have a functional, compassionate system. Our right to shelter laws, our social services, and our values are being exploited by others for political gain."

The remarks by Adams echo those made by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser after Republican Governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis and Texas' Greg Abbott bused dozens of migrants to their cities.

"The Biden-Harris administration continues ignoring and denying the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for almost two years," Abbott said in a statement in September. "Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C., until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border."

During a press conference in September, Lightfoot made comments similar to Adams and said that Abbott was "manufacturing a human crisis" by sending buses of migrants to Chicago.

In addition to Lightfoot's comments, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker previously issued a disaster proclamation and activated some of the state's National Guard to help with the influx of migrants.

"Let me be clear: While other states may be treating these vulnerable families as pawns, here in Illinois, we are treating them as people," Pritzker said in a statement last month.

Washington, D.C., also received dozens of migrants from Republican-led states, which prompted Mayor Bowser to call the situation a "growing humanitarian crisis."

Bowser also created an office for migrant services within her city and said in a statement that "this is a new challenge for D.C., but I feel confident that if we lead with our values, and if we put the right systems in place, which we are doing with the Office of Migrant Services, then we will lead a response that makes our community proud."

Kathryn Kliff, a staff attorney at the The Legal Aid Society's Homeless Rights Project in New York City, told Newsweek on Friday that she is happy with Adams' announcement and said "the migrant families coming in have a lot of unmet needs and have been through a lot and basically have nothing by the time they get here, so there's certainly high needs for any additional resources."

According to Kliff, The Legal Aid Society's Homeless Rights Project has experienced an "increase" in the number of new clients amid the busing of migrants to the city.

"And a large number of clients are recent migrants," Kliff said. "Obviously with Governor Abbott busing people here, that does increase the amount of people coming in."

Elora Mukherjee, a Jerome L. Greene clinical professor of law at the Columbia School of Law, told Newsweek on Friday that "New York City has offered refuge to people for hundreds of years. We should welcome the most recent incoming asylum-seekers and migrants. These new arrivals will soon integrate into our city, providing critical support to our city labor force and becoming part of our communities."

Elizabeth F. Cohen, a political science professor at Syracuse University, told Newsweek that "stunts like busing and chartering flights to remove immigrants from states like Florida and Texas are not planned first and foremost for the purpose of relocating immigrants in places where they can get their bearings and begin their new lives. The purpose is to generate dehumanizing headlines and discussions."

Cohen, the author of the book Illegal: How America's Lawless Immigration Regime Threatens Us All,added that "mayors of cities in large metro areas where there are long-established organizations with experience assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and other newly arrived immigrants have resources at their disposal for resettling immigrants. These are regions where labor markets are tight and social capital networks are well-established. If these mayors refuse to use their resources to meet the short-term needs presented by newly arrived immigrants, we should understand that as a choice they are making about how they use their resources."

Edit Stelczner, an immigration lawyer in New York City, told Newsweek: "For centuries now, the US/local economy has been boosted by immigrants. We need it more now than ever given the state of the economy with supply constraints and high inflation. The influx of immigrants not only adds cultural diversity but generally adds to the workforce, increasing productivity, increasing supply and ultimately lowering inflation.

"If we can process the cases faster and getting to a position where they can join the workforce faster—everybody wins. Of course we need prompt temporary government assistance on the local level hence the announcement from Mayor [Eric] Adams."

Newsweek reached out to Adams' office and the New York City Office of Immigration Affairs for comment.

Update 10/10/2022, 10:39 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include comment from Edit Stelczner.