Democrat Cities Feel Pressure of Migrant Surge

The Democratic mayors of New York, Chicago and Denver on Wednesday issued a joint plea for more federal assistance to help contend with an ongoing migrant surge into their cities, caused in part by Texas Governor Greg Abbott's policy of bussing new arrivals out of his state.

Speaking at a joint virtual press conference, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson claimed "it's the entire country that is now at stake," adding: "All of our cities have reached a point where we are either close to capacity or nearly out of room."

Abbott began sending migrants to Democratic "sanctuary cities" in 2022 in response to a sharp rise in irregular migrations across the southern border, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis later following suit. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 2.4 million migrant encounters near the Mexican border in the 2023 fiscal year, which ended at the close of September, versus around 1.7 million recorded during 2021.

New York Mayor Eric Adams claimed his city had received over 161,000 migrants who had been bussed north since August 2022, adding: "We need the state and federal government's help in resettling the 68,000 migrants currently in our care." In September Adams sparked controversy after claiming migration would "destroy New York City" unless additional assistance was provided.

Adams on Wednesday announced new restrictions which will require busses carrying migrants to give 32 hours' notice prior to their arrival, after which they will only be allowed to unload between 8:30am and noon on Monday to Friday, at certain designated spots. Any bus found violating these rules could be impounded, with the company in question charged with a Class B misdemeanor.

"We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour, day and night," Adams said.

"This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly way, it puts those who have already suffered so much in danger."

Johnson claimed described Abbott's policy of bussing migrants from Texas to his city as "reckless and, quite frankly, dangerous" adding: "In no way what the state of Texas is doing is helping the cause."

He said Chicago has already spent $138 million addressing the migrant crisis, a figure that is expected to get worse as temperatures plummet over winter.

During an interview with CNN, Johnson called for a $15 billion federal fund to be established to address the migrant situation nationwide, adding: "Without significant investment from our federal government, it won't just be the city of Chicago that won't be able to maintain this mission. It's the entire country that is now at stake."

He also called on President Joe Biden to implement what he termed "real, substantive immigration reform and policies that allow us to have a structure and a pathway to citizenship."

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston claimed contending with migration will "crush city budgets around the country" unless more federal support is provided. The city already has imposed restrictions on when migrant busses can be dropped off.

In September, Governor Abbott said his state would continue bussing migrants to liberal-run cities "until President Biden upholds his constitutional duty to secure America's southern border."

He added: "Texas communities like Eagle Pass and El Paso should not have to shoulder the unprecedented surge of illegal immigration caused by President Biden's reckless open border policies. I have directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy additional buses to send these migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities and provide much-needed relief to our overrun border towns."