NYC files $708M suit against Texas charter bus companies that bring migrants to the city
Migrants arrive at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan after traveling from Del Rio, Texas. Credit: Bloomberg/Victor J. Blue
The Adams administration is suing Texas charter bus companies that have been shuttling tens of thousands of foreign migrants to New York City from border towns, seeking $708 million to cover their room and board.
The suit, against 17 companies, cites New York social services law requiring that someone “who knowingly brings, or causes to be brought, a needy person from out of state into this state for the purpose of making him a public charge … shall be obligated to convey such person out of state or support him at his own expense.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office reports that since August 2022, the state has bused over 33,000 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border up to New York City. Tens of thousands more have gone to other blue states with sanctuary city policies preventing cooperation with immigration enforcement. The program is aimed at protesting the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
The companies couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
In a news release, Mayor Eric Adams said: “New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone.”
Since spring 2022, over 160,000 migrants who have crossed into the United States have headed for New York. Most are unlikely to seek asylum and those who do are likely to be denied it, but an unknown number are likely to stay in the United States illegally anyway.
The suit New York City filed Thursday is the latest salvo by the administration seeking to contain the migrant crisis, which is forecast to cost the city over $12 billion by the upcoming fiscal year.
Last week, Adams signed an order requiring advanced notice from charter buses about migrant drop-offs and imposed restrictions limiting their hours to weekday mornings. In turn, the companies began dropping migrants off in New Jersey with a train ticket into the city.
The Adams administration is suing Texas charter bus companies that have been shuttling tens of thousands of foreign migrants to New York City from border towns, seeking $708 million to cover their room and board.
The suit, against 17 companies, cites New York social services law requiring that someone “who knowingly brings, or causes to be brought, a needy person from out of state into this state for the purpose of making him a public charge … shall be obligated to convey such person out of state or support him at his own expense.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office reports that since August 2022, the state has bused over 33,000 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border up to New York City. Tens of thousands more have gone to other blue states with sanctuary city policies preventing cooperation with immigration enforcement. The program is aimed at protesting the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
The companies couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
In a news release, Mayor Eric Adams said: “New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone.”
Since spring 2022, over 160,000 migrants who have crossed into the United States have headed for New York. Most are unlikely to seek asylum and those who do are likely to be denied it, but an unknown number are likely to stay in the United States illegally anyway.
The suit New York City filed Thursday is the latest salvo by the administration seeking to contain the migrant crisis, which is forecast to cost the city over $12 billion by the upcoming fiscal year.
Last week, Adams signed an order requiring advanced notice from charter buses about migrant drop-offs and imposed restrictions limiting their hours to weekday mornings. In turn, the companies began dropping migrants off in New Jersey with a train ticket into the city.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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