NYC mayor says migrants should be sent to cities 'throughout the entire country'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday that migrants from the border should be sent to every city “throughout the entire country” instead of only a select few. 

"We have 108,000 cities, villages, and towns. If everyone takes a small portion of that, and if it's coordinated at the border, to ensure that those who are coming here to this country in a lawful manner is actually moved throughout the entire country, it is not a burden on one city," Adams said in an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"And the numbers need to be clear. We received over 70,000 migrant asylum seekers in our city, 42,000 are still in our care. If this is properly handled at the border level, this issue can be resolved while we finally get Congress, particularly the Republican Party, to deal with a comprehensive immigration policy."

Adams' comments come as the Big Apple has struggled to take care of the thousands of undocumented migrants that are being bused into the city every day from the U.S.-Mexico border.  

According to the mayor, New York City has spent more than $1 billion addressing the migration crisis. However, it is expected to cost the city more than $4.2 billion by mid-next year, according to an internal memo dated February 6.

To help provide shelter, food, and healthcare for migrants, New York City applied for $350 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, last Friday, the Adams administration learned that the city will only be receiving $30 million. 

"When you look at the price tag, $30 million comes nowhere near what the city is paying for a national problem," he told the program. 

"We believe the entire state should participate in a decompression strategy," he added. "It's unfortunate that there have been some lawmakers and counties that are not carrying on their role of assuring that this is a decompression strategy throughout the state."