Immigration
Gov. Abbott accuses NYC mayor of ‘flat out lying,’ hypocrisy on migrant buses
He noted how Democrats are also sending migrants to New York City.
September 20, 2022 12:59pm
Updated: September 20, 2022 5:28pm
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of hypocrisy for singling-out his migrant relocation program while ignoring those of his Democratic peers like President Joe Biden and the mayor of El Paso.
The comment comes after Adams acknowledged on Monday that his administration was exploring “legal challenges we could do with Texas” without saying who specifically.
Later that day, an Abbott spokeswoman accused Adams of “flat-out lying and selectively attacking Texas’ busing operation, while conveniently ignoring migrants bused into New York City by Democrat-led El Paso and flown by President Biden.”
“Instead of complaining about a couple thousand migrants being bused into his self-declared sanctuary city and using these migrants for political attacks, Mayor Adams should call on President Biden to take immediate action to secure the border — something the President continues failing to do,” Abbott press secretary Renae Eze added.
Abbott began sending migrants who arrived at the U.S. southern border to Washington D.C.’s Union Station in April after months of inaction from the Biden administration, expanding the program to New York City in September.
Eze was referring to migrant relocation programs directed at the Big Apple run by Democratic leaders like the White House’s flights from Texas to a nearby airport. The New York Post reported the flights, which usually arrive between midnight and 6:30 a.m., began last August.
The Adams administration also has an agreement to welcome up to 200 migrants a day from El Paso, Texas, reports The Post.
The Democrat-led city acknowledged recently it has been sending its own migrant buses, independent of Abbott, out of town due to how overwhelmed local facilities and non-profits are.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leesar has made public comments about close cooperation with Adams on resettling migrants, which the New York City mayor has denied.
On Monday, the El Paso city council approved a $2 million contract for a local charter bus company to help bus migrants out of town over the next 16 months.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported El Paso was primarily sending its buses to New York City at the request of migrants themselves.
