State of Emergency: NYC raises red flags over migrant influx on Friday as thousands pour in from Texas

New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency on Friday, raising red flags over the influx of bussed migrants that have poured into the area, estimating it will cost $1 billion to give them living quarters and social service assistance.

The situation has created a financial and moral crisis for the Big Apple, which prides itself on being a sanctuary city for migrants.

Adams lashed out on the Democratic Mayor of El Paso, Oscar Leeser, demanding that the Texas municipal leader to stop sending busloads of migrants, which now totals 42% of new arrivals.

In his emergency declaration, Adams said NYC needs to come up with a solution to find “long-term shelter, health care, and a great deal of institutional support” for the estimated 20,000 illegal immigrants that have been coming to the city since the spring.

“It is straining the limits of our ability to provide care for New Yorkers in need, and it is burning through our city’s budget,” he said, adding in a speech from City Hall in which he said the wave of migrants had pushed the city’s resources to the brink and shelter capacity to an all-time high.

“New York cannot accommodate the number of buses that we have coming here to our city,” he said. “We are in a crisis situation. “This is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South America, and it’s being accelerated by American political dynamics. This crisis is not of our own making, but one that will affect everyone in this city now and in the months ahead.”

Many of the incoming migrants are Venezuelans seeking asylum from the communist dictatorship, which is known for its repressive tactics. Adams and Leeser’s stories on the issue are also at odds about the discussions they’ve had on the issue.

Last month, the New York Post reported that, during a public meeting, Leeser said he’d spoken by phone with Adams and that the New York mayor had agreed to “welcome” as many as 200 migrants a day from El Paso.

Adams disputed that account and said New York never had an agreement with El Paso to receive migrants.

Two days before Leeser’s comments, Adams said  the NYC shelter system was close to “its breaking point,” and on Friday, Adams said, “There was never an agreement for El Paso to send asylum seekers here… “We never told them, ‘Please send us your asylum seekers.’ We would never do that. We have our own issue here.”

During his speech at City Hall, Adams said that migrant families coming to NYC have enrolled 5,500 new students in public schools, more than 61,000 people are now packed in city shelters, and that the city is renting rooms in more than 40 hotels across the city to try and keep up with the influx.