Only 20 percent of NYC's 13,000 migrants sent by Texas, says Gov. Abbott

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is only responsible for about 20% of New York City’s new migrant arrivals, according to recent figures.

The administration of NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) said on Friday that about 13,600 migrants have been processed into the city’s shelter system since May, 11,000 of which are living in taxpayer-funded housing.

The mayor has repeatedly blamed Abbott and his migrant buses for the massive influx.  

But Abbott’s office told the New York Post the same day that they’d only sent 2,700 migrants since the first bus arrived on Aug. 5, meaning he is responsible for only 1 in 5 of the new arrivals.

Adams accused Abbott of sending illegal immigrant to his city in July, calling him and Arizona Gov. Pete Ducey (R) “cowards” for their migrant relocation programs. Both had been sending buses to Washington D.C. since April but denied sending any directly to the Big Apple before Abbott’s first in August.

Abbott is only one party sending new arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border to America’s largest city.

The Democrat-led border city of El Paso, Texas, has been sending its own buses independent of the Texas governor. The office of Oscar Leesar, its Democratic mayor, confirmed Friday that his administration had sent 4,230 migrants to New York City – about 31% of the city’s total at the time.

President Joe Biden has also been flying migrants from Texas to a small airport just outside the city since last August. They were temporarily suspended after a New York Post expose but resumed in April.

The White House has been flying them to other parts of the United States as well, like Pennsylvania.

A New York State constitutional “right to shelter” requires New York City provide a bed to every homeless resident, which Adams recently said must be “reassessed” as the migrant buses push the city’s shelter system to “its breaking point.”

That right originally stems from a landmark decision made on December 5, 1979 by the New York State Supreme Court, which ordered New York City and State authorities to provide shelter for homeless. That decision cited Article XVII of the New York State Constitution.

But in August 1981, after nearly two years of negotiations between the plaintiffs and the government, Callahan v. Carey was settled as a consent decree, meaning it was ultimately entered into jointly.

“By entering into the decree, the City and State agreed to provide shelter and board to all homeless men who met the need standard for welfare or who were homeless 'by reason of physical, mental, or social dysfunction.' Thus the decree established a right to shelter for all homeless men in New York City, and also detailed the minimum standards which the City and State must maintain in shelters, including basic health and safety standards. In addition, Coalition for the Homeless was appointed monitor of shelters for homeless adults,” according to a fact sheet about the case published by the Coalition for the Homeless.

Abbott accused Adams of hypocrisy for singling out his migrant relation program while ignoring those of his Democratic peers like Biden and Leesar.

The Post noted that Abbott’s office had sent another busload of migrants since their Friday statement but had not provided an updated total.