Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (D.) on Sunday slammed the Biden administration for causing an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants, which has overwhelmed officials and the resources of cities such as New York City.
"This is the worst government blunder I have seen in my entire life," Cuomo said during a speech at a Bronx church, referring to the Big Apple’s ongoing migrant crisis. "You have the federal government, which is where it starts, it’s standing at the border with a sign that says, ‘Come to the United States of America and claim asylum.’"
"And two million people come. Of course, from Venezuela, Honduras, and Guatemala," Cuomo added. "They get to the border and they say, ‘Where do you want to go?’ And they say, ‘I want to go to New York.’ What are they going to say? 'I want to go to Nevada'?"
Cuomo also condemned New York governor Kathy Hochul (D.) for keeping the "migrant problem" in the Big Apple and not urging the rest of New York State to share the burden. "They get to New York—New York State says to them, ‘You can only go to New York City.’ Only New York City. Not the Hudson Valley, not upstate New York, not Long Island—only New York City," Cuomo said.
The United States has seen a record-breaking surge in illegal immigration since President Joe Biden took office. More than 175,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since April 2022, overwhelming the city as it has provided the migrants with free food, housing, health care, and pre-paid credit cards.
New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) has also blamed the Biden administration for the city’s migrant crisis. "The national government must solve this, and the challenges that we are facing, no city should be facing these challenges," Adams said last month. "And I kept saying this over and over again. We’re going to start seeing the visualization of the failure of the policy. … We’re seeing the visual of what a failed national policy is producing."