By Forum Staff
As Texas Governor Greg Abbott triples down on efforts to use asylum seekers as political pawns, Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston recently called for additional federal support to manage the national asylum seeker crisis. With a record number of crossings at the border set yet again, the Big Apple and other impacted cities have begun to see another surge of migrants arriving via buses.
In response, Adams last week issued Executive Order 538 requiring improved coordination from charter bus companies transporting new migrant arrivals into NYC, ensuring the safety and well-being of both migrants and City staff receiving them. Effective last Wednesday, chartered buses bringing migrants into the five boroughs — many of which have been and continue to be sent by the State of Texas — will be required to provide 32 hours’ notice before arriving in New York City and information on the population they are transporting, as well as be required to drop passengers off at a designated location in Manhattan only during specified hours.
The city has seen a significant increase in chartered buses dropping off passengers at random locations throughout Midtown Manhattan in recent weeks, without any prior notice to City officials. This is hampering the city’s ability to manage this humanitarian crisis, including efforts to provide emergency services as needed to migrants. In the last month, the city has begun to see another surge, recording more than 14,700 new arrivals. Last week, 14 rogue buses with migrants arrived from Texas in a single night — the highest one-day total recorded by the Asylum Seeker Arrival Center since last spring — in addition to migrants still arriving via other modes of transportation. Last week’s executive order will help ensure the city can continue to manage this humanitarian crisis in an orderly way.
Effective immediately, all buses covered by the executive order must drop off their passengers at the loading zone on West 41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, unless the City Department of Emergency Management has designated or pre-approved a different drop-off location in advance. Furthermore, the chartered buses can only drop off migrants between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday.
Warning letters are also being sent to charter bus companies that New York City has identified as engaging in transporting newly arrived migrants from Texas to the Big Apple. Under State law, knowingly violating a local executive order is a class B misdemeanor crime punishable by up to three months imprisonment and an up to $500 fine for individuals and an up to $2,000 fine for corporations. Additionally, companies that knowingly violate Executive Order 538 could have their buses impounded by the City Police Department.
Adams also noted that his administration will continue to prioritize helping migrants live independently. However, without significant or timely state and federal assistance, the City plans to pursue a 20-percent reduction in spending on the migrant crisis in the Fiscal Year 2024 Preliminary Budget, which will be released in January 2024.
