New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the leader of a self-proclaimed “Sanctuary City” for illegal immigrants, said the federal government should send illegal immigrants to locations across the United States and expressed concern that they are overwhelming his city.
Adams shared the viewpoint during an interview on “Face the Nation” Sunday on CBS.
“We’ve spent over a billion dollars, we’re projected to spend close to $4.3 billion, if not more. This estimate was based on a number of migrants coming into the city, and those numbers have clearly increased,” Adams said. “We are getting- we’ve received several days last week alone over 900 migrants on days. A week- over two weeks ago, approximately 4,200 in one week. When you look at the price tag, 30 million dollars comes nowhere near what the city is paying for a national problem.”
“Well, let’s be clear, the migrants and asylum seekers are paroled into the country through CF- through CFO- through border- Customs Border Patrol. That is totally different from those who come to the country without any documentation, and that’s the definition when you look at sanctuary- sanctuary cities,” he continued, adding that immigration is “a national issue” and “no city should be going through this.”
Adams also discussed the ongoing issue of accommodating asylum seekers in the city, stating that the Big Apple has taken in over 70,000 asylum seekers and continues to care for approximately 42,000 individuals.
The mayor expressed his concerns to host Margaret Brennan, explaining that he has been in discussions with FEMA, New York’s congressional delegation and the White House to secure financial allocations and resources to address the situation. He emphasized that it is unfair for cities like New York to bear the burden of a national problem.
In recent weeks, Adams implemented a “decompression strategy” by transporting migrants to surrounding counties in an attempt to ease the strain on New York City. Both Rockland and Orange Counties filed lawsuits to halt this practice, asserting that New York City lacks the authority to place individuals in their jurisdictions without their consent.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day, in response to the relocation efforts, stated that New York City cannot unilaterally volunteer other counties for placement, especially when those counties lack the necessary infrastructure to provide assistance, according to Rockland News. He stressed that New York is a home-rule state, and decisions affecting individual counties should be made in consultation with local officials.
When questioned about this practice, Adams expressed his belief that the entire state should participate in the decompression strategy, showing concern that some lawmakers and counties have not fulfilled their responsibility to ensure a statewide approach to the issue.
“We have 108,000 cities, villages, towns,” Adams said. “If everyone takes a small portion of that, and if it’s coordinated at the border, to ensure that those who are coming here to this country in a lawful manner is actually moved throughout the entire country, it is not a burden on one city.”
During his mayoral campaign, Adams made a commitment to maintain New York City as a sanctuary city if elected. The term “sanctuary city” refers to cities that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities to protect undocumented immigrants. Adams reassured New Yorkers that under his administration, the city would uphold its status as a sanctuary city.
