Mayor Eric Adams is continuing to criticize the Biden administration as he struggles to deal with the influx of immigrants who have arrived in New York City.
Adams has claimed the federal government is denying 100,000 migrants the right now work. The migrants who have arrived in New York are not legally in the country.
“This city is supposed to be displaying what the God-like spirit is, and it doesn’t mean stating that we don’t want those people,” he said at a press conference on Aug. 15, per Fox News. “I don’t care if you are Irish Americans coming here. If you were Caribbean Americans coming here. If you are African Americans migrating from the South, if you were Jewish, Polish, Indonesian, Chinese, everyone heard this same rhetoric that’s coming from the body of hateful people.”
“What is more anti-American than not allowing someone to work? What is more anti-American than that?” he said. “So what is wrong with them having the right to work? There’s no reason the national government is not staying true to the basic principle of the American experience to allow you to the right to work. It is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable that they cannot work.”
“We need workers. We need people contributing in our society,” added Adams. “We need people making this the melting pot that it is. That is how our city has become the greatest city on the globe — by opening our doors. But we can’t do it alone. This is wrong.”
Adams estimated his administration will spend $12 billion over the next three years as a result of the increase in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
“It’s going to come from our schools’ services. It’s going to come from our streets. It’s going to come from what we provide to children,” said the mayor. “This is the greatest challenge our city has faced in decades. We got to get it right.”
Adams says that the rising illegal immigration population in the city “is not a New York City problem” but rather “a national problem.”
Adams appealed to the Biden administration for assistance on Aug. 9, requesting the federal government declare a state of emergency to manage the “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border. The mayor estimated that 100,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since 2022 but, on average, 57,000 migrants are being cared for by the city each night.
He also asked that the federal government “provide more reimbursements for costs incurred by the city,” per NBC News.
In May, Axios reported that the increasing tension between Adams and President Joe Biden over the impact of illegal immigration on New York City led to Adams being dropped from Biden’s 2024 campaign advisory board.
“This isn’t merely personal. It’s part of a potential crisis for the campaign: Many Democratic state and city officials quietly agree with Adams and are happy he is taking flack on their behalf,” reported the outlet. “They’re running out of patience with the administration — especially over what they see as a lack of financial support or imminent solutions for dealing with the massive migration across the Southwest border.”
Adams has also attacked former President Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott while discussing New York’s migrants crisis.
