New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently said that Washington D.C. “has abandoned us” in regards to the ongoing migrant crisis the city and other parts of the country are facing — days after he announced stinging budget cuts to education and policing due to the crisis.
Adams told Politico that “D.C. abandoned us and they should be paying for this national problem” during a Brooklyn town hall.
Since last year, over 130,000 migrants have entered the “sanctuary city”. A relatively small number were bussed into the city via Texas.
Adams, who warned that the crisis could “destroy the city” and demanded more federal assistance, said it was a small fraction of the over 2.4 million migrants that crossed the southern border during the past fiscal year.
Adams announced last week that all government agencies would be cut due to the fact that the city had spent nearly $11 billion on the migrant crises in 2024-2025 and $1.45 billion during fiscal 2023.
His office stated that the New York Police Department would freeze hiring in order to reduce the number of officers from 33,000 down to 30,000 by 2025. The education budget, which includes the universal prekindergarten program and sanitation, will also see deep cuts.
Teachers and police unions in the city were furious about the budget cuts.
Patrick Hendry, president of the police union in New York City, said: “This is a catastrophe for all New Yorkers who care about safe streets.” “Our cops are already at breaking point and these cuts return us to the staffing levels that we haven’t experienced since the 1980s and 1990s crime epidemic.”
Adams told residents that they should blame the federal government.
Adams told Politico that he tells people to yell “at D.C .,” instead of at him when they approach me in the subway. “We deserve better as a city.”
The Biden administration has cited the more than $770 million it has spent in the past year to help communities that have taken in migrants and the recommendations made by its expert teams.
A DHS official recently said that it has also sent personnel to assist with the authorization of work permits and educate migrants about the immigration system.
Separately the White House requested additional funding of $14 billion for border operations. This includes $1.4 billion additional in grants for local governments and non-profits.
More Democrats in New York see the crisis as an issue. According to a new Sienna College Research Institute survey, 75% of New York Democrats view the migrant problem in the state as “very serious” and “somewhat serious”. 47% said it was dire while 28% said it was somewhat consequential.
