Andrew Cuomo on border post-Title 42: ‘It’s going to get worse before it gets better’

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said that the situation on the southern border will likely “get worse before it gets better,” following the end of Title 42.

“What’s happening on the southern border, that is a real debacle,” Cuomo told radio talk show host John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.” “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“To me, it is an aspirational principle meets a practical reality, right,” he added. “In theory, everybody wants to believe this is America — Statue of Liberty, we open our arms, we invite everyone in. In practicality, that is impossible.”

Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed authorities to quickly expel asylum seekers, ended on Thursday after more than three years, leading to concerns about a surge of migrants at the southern border.

New York City is expecting its own influx of migrants, as Republican governors in border states continue to bus migrants to Democrat-led cities in the north. 

Mayor Eric Adams (D) warned earlier this week that the city cannot accommodate the expected surge and began busing migrants to counties in northern New York. He also temporarily eased the city’s guarantee to shelter all residents.

“It’s gotten to a point where it overwhelms cities all across the country,” Cuomo said. “You look at New York City now … It’s one of the major problems that the mayor has, which is really bizarre since immigration is not his problem.”

“It’s President Biden’s problem. It’s Governor Hochul’s problem. But it’s not his problem,” he added. 

Cuomo urged the mayor to make the state of New York take responsibility for the expected influx of migrants.

“Mayor Adams, call up Governor Hochul and the Legislature, and say, ‘This is not a city problem. It’s a state problem Come down here and pick up these people and disperse them across the state,’” he said.