Democratic mayors across the country are demanding that the Biden administration give them more help with the record-shattering influx of illegal immigrants.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver mayor Mike Johnston are heading to Washington, D.C., to "meet with Biden administration officials overseeing various parts of the immigration process," as well as members of Congress, Politico reported Wednesday. New York City mayor Eric Adams was scheduled to join the trip but at the last minute abruptly changed his plans, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Johnson, Johnston, and Adams are three of five big-city Democratic mayors who on Wednesday sent a letter to President Joe Biden demanding more aid money. While Biden has requested $1.4 billion from Congress to help the cities, the mayors are asking for $5 billion, the Associated Press reported.
The mayors did not say whether they will meet with Biden on Thursday. A New York City Hall spokesman would not tell the Post why Adams bailed out of the meeting, only saying that "he is coming back to deal with a matter."
The migrant crisis worsened after Biden allowed Title 42, a Trump-era border security measure, to lapse in May. Since then, the Border Patrol has logged the highest-ever number of migrants entering the United States per day, the Washington Free Beacon reported in September. In response, Democrats such as Adams and New York governor Kathy Hochul have turned on the migrants they once claimed to support, with Adams saying that unrestrained migration will "destroy" New York City.
New York is taking in 10,000 migrants every month, the mayor said in September.
The crisis has also increased tensions between Democratic mayors and the Biden administration. The relationship between Adams, who has repeatedly criticized the president's handling of the situation, and Biden has deteriorated to such a point that the two are avoiding each other at events, Politico reported in September. Johnson, a far-left "defund the police" advocate, said at a Wednesday press conference that cities have "borne the brunt of the responsibility here" and that "the federal government has to do more."