New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Friday announced that the city would be entering a state of emergency as it anticipates a record number of asylum-seekers.
Adams’s emergency executive order instructs relevant agencies throughout the city to direct their efforts to responding to the influx of migrants.
“Today, I am declaring a state of emergency in the city of New York and issuing an executive order. This executive order will formally direct all relevant agencies to coordinate their efforts to construct the humanitarian relief centers. We are also suspending certain land use requirements to expedite this process,” Adams announced.
Adams also asked the federal and New York state governments for emergency aid in his address, projecting that the cost of handling the migrant crisis will amount to about $1 billion in the fiscal year.
He said that more than 17,000 migrants have been bused to the city since the spring, and he anticipates a further influx of asylum-seekers going forward that could amount to more than 100,000.
Adams also announced that New York will open a Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center to help migrants when they arrive in the city and aid them in relocating, if they so choose.
“New York City now has more than 61,000 people in our shelter system. That includes thousands of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and thousands of asylum-seekers who have been bused in over the past few months from other parts of the country,” he said in his announcement.
“Almost 20,000 are children, and 1 in 5 of them is an asylum-seeker. And every day, the total number gets higher. Every day, from this point forward, we are setting a new record,” added Adams.
In August, Adams’s spokesperson slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his continued busing of migrants from the southern border to Democratic-led cities, including New York. The spokesperson accused Abbott of using human beings as “political pawns” and called the move “disgusting.”
In response, Abbott said that he Adams “follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.”