Adams says Hochul ‘wrong’ on NYC migrant crisis, urges ‘real leadership’ to push asylum seekers across state

New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized fellow Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul for pushing back on her controversial migrant “decompression strategy,” urging “real leadership” from Albany to push asylum seekers into communities across the state, reducing the burden on the Big Apple.

At a fireside conversation hosted by New York Law School, a professor asked Adams to address concerns about tents being erected to house migrants in outer boroughs like Queens. In response, the mayor scaled back his warning last year that the migrant crisis is “coming to a neighborhood near you,” again hurling criticism at “two Republican governors” — capped by the shootings of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – for sending migrants over the border to self-declared liberal sanctuary cities like New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, DC

But Adams also went after his own Democrat governor.

“You think I enjoy kicking out kids playing soccer on Randall’s Island? I don’t enjoy disrupting the community on Staten Island. I don’t enjoy watching this happen to the residents of New York City. But we have to provide primary care,” Adams said. “And that’s why Governor Hochul has been a partner on subway safety, on crime, on a lot of things. But I think this issue, I think the governor is wrong. He’s the governor of New York State. The New York City is in that state. Every county in this state should be part of it. We have 0.05 of the land in this state, and we have about 99% of the migrants seeking asylum.”

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Mayor Eric Adams strongly defended New York City’s migrant response. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“This is a real moment of leadership, and all of those counties, we are the economic engine of this state,” he continued. “New York is down, the whole state is down. And New Yorkers, I want to be honest with you, it’s keeping me up at night. It could destroy everything we’ve done. This is a humanitarian crisis of a national proportion. .”

Adams also took aim at New Yorkers who complain about migrants moving into their neighborhoods.

An anti-migrant rally outside Gracie Mansion on August 27, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“This is wrong with New Yorkers. When I hear someone say in Middle Village, Staten Island or wherever, say, ‘Eric, why is this tent on my block?’ My question was, ‘Where have you been? I told you what we were dealing with,'” Adams said. “Every day, I say, ‘New Yorkers, we’ve got to rise up. We’ve got to talk to our federal lawmakers and let Washington know that this shouldn’t be happening in New York City.’ Now, we can’t say, ‘It’s not fair that it’s in Middle Village.’ Then tell me what community it should move to. Should I move it to the South Bronx? Should I move it to Harlem? Should I move it to South Jamaica? No community should go through this, but the fact is, we’re running out of space, and I have to open up wherever you can think of.”

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Criticized by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Adams’ migrant resettlement plan. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The mayor also reiterated his claim that it is “un-American” to not allow the roughly 100,000 asylum seekers who come to New York City to work legally in the United States, citing the 1.3 million people who passed through Ellis Island in one point. and “absorbed” by New York City.

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“We have to deal with this at the border. We have to have a decompression strategy,” Adams said. “We have almost 108,000 cities across our country. Everyone should understand this. They dropped it all in New York City. We reached 104,000. We opened two hundred emergency shelters, several HERRCs. We have to feed, clothe, housing, health care.”