Eric Adams warned there is “no more room” for migrants in New York City as he renewed his suggestion for asylum seekers to be temporarily housed on cruise ships. Latest data showed over 40,000 asylum seekers arrived or were moved to the Big Apple after entering the United States. Adams said the city had already spent over $300 million in its attempts to tackle the immigration crisis and the tipping point had been reached.
He insisted: “It’s not that we’re getting to that point, we’re at that point.”
Adams said he wanted to be honest with New Yorkers about the current situation but also reiterated the city will continue to “do our moral and legal obligation”.
The Democrat said: “Whoever comes to the city, you’re not seeing individuals sleeping on the street with families because we’re continuing to pivot and shift as needed.”
He said he continues to have talks with Governor Kathy Hochul to “pivot and shift” their strategy to best handle the flux of new arrivals.
Speaking to Politico, Adams said: “If it means using cruise ships, if it means finding space on state land, in my conversation with the governor, we’re going to continue to pivot and shift to address the influx of migrants and asylum seekers that we’re seeing.
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“That is what we had to do from the beginning of this crisis when the Texas governor was sending individuals here, we’re going to continue to make sure we address the issue that we are facing while we fight for the support that we deserve.”
The New York mayor had previously made an appeal for unity as he said the ongoing crisis had pitted him and his colleagues against each other.
He said: “We don’t deserve this, migrants don’t deserve this, and the people who live in this city don’t deserve this. This crisis has mayors pitted against each other. And that can’t happen.”
Adams said the growing number of asylum seekers arriving in New York had forced authorities to start using homeless shelters to house them.
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Despite the collaboration with Hochul to address the crisis, the Governor has so far rejected appeals from the New York mayor for emergency aid.
Adams also lodged requests with the state and federal governments to use NY-owned land to set up alternative shelters to house asylum seekers.
But President Joe Biden has so far failed to take control of the crisis, only last week visiting the Mexico border for the first time since taking office in 2020.
And Kamala Harris, who was charged with overseeing the progress of the migration crisis, has been met with criticism from the Border Force over her inaction.
Writing on Twitter, they said: “If you were given a job two years ago with the explicit goal of reducing illegal immigration, and then you sit around and do nothing while illegal immigration explodes to levels never seen before, you should be fired and replaced. Period.”
