New York City is suing counties in the state that refused to accept migrants from the city, as Democratic mayor Eric Adams's administration struggles to manage the influx of migrants bused in from the southern border.
Thirty-three counties and one town are named in the suit. The localities filed emergency orders to keep migrants bused in from New York City from staying in their hotels. Adams last month announced the plan to bus migrants out of the city, despite his 2021 campaign pledge to keep New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants. Adams on Monday claimed New York City has supported 72,000 migrants but can't continue to support all of those who have arrived.
Counsel for the Adams administration Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix said the emergency orders are "misguided and unlawful" filings and are "premised on false claims" that migrants pose a danger. The city's suit comes after a report last month detailed how hotel staff in New York City encountered migrant children with alcohol and weapons throwing "ragers" in rooms but staff were told not to intervene.
Adams first called for busing migrants to surrounding counties last month. Localities quickly declared emergencies, including Rockland and Orange Counties, which were slotted to receive hundreds of migrants to fill their hotels. Both counties are named in the suit.
Adams earlier this week announced a new "vision" for residents of New York City to house migrants in their homes.
"It is my vision to take the next step to this faith-based locales and then move to a private residence," Adams said Monday, adding that funding for housing migrants could be paid to residents. "They have spare rooms."
In recent months, Adams has said "there is no room in New York" for additional migrants and publicly blasted the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis.
Republicans in the House last week drafted a resolution to condemn Adams for his plan to house migrants in public schools.