New York City’s mayor has said there is “no more room” in the city after it emerged that Colorado – which does not border Mexico – planned to send some of its migrants to the Big Apple.
The migrant crisis has been branded a “national embarrassment” as New York is overwhelmed with asylum seekers – with more than 30,000 recently settling into the city, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
There’s “no more room at the inn” Adams said about the crisis facing the city amid plans from Colorado to send migrants to New York and Chicago.
“We received over 30,000 asylum seekers that are in need of not only shelter, but food, education for children, health care and some of the basic items that are needed,” Adams told radio host Sid Rosenberg.
He added: “Now, we were notified yesterday that the governor of Colorado has now stated that they are going to be sending migrants to places like New York and Chicago. This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation. We’ve done our job. There’s no more room at the inn.
The Mayor said the influx of people was affecting New Yorkers’ “quality of life” during a difficult time.
“This has really impacted on the quality of life in New York, and our ability to provide everyday long-term New Yorkers on the needs that they have during this difficult time. So this must be addressed,” he said.
It was unclear when or why Colorado would be sending migrants to the city, and Democratic Governor Jared Polis did not provide details on the plan.
In a statement, he said that around 70 percent of the migrants in his state were passing through and that the State Government was working with non-profit organisations to help migrants reach their final destinations.
The capital of Colorado, Denver is about 700 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border. The border city of El Paso has been overwhelmed by an influx of asylum seekers in recent weeks.
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Many of the migrants on the buses, which are believed to have been from Texas, were wearing nothing but t-shirts or light sweatshirts in the 18 degree (-7C) weather.
Adams had previously warned city lawmakers that New York was at its capacity for migrants and asked for support to fund its care for them amid the expected expiration of Title 42.
The pandemic era health measure has been used to expel more than 2.5 million migrants from the border. Title 42 was set to expire last month, however the Supreme Court has kept the law in place amid legal challenges.
The expected expiration of the measure saw a surge of migrants at the border which has overwhelmed shelters in the area. Many desperate migrants have been forced to sleep on the streets in cities like El Paso.
