Mayor Eric Adams is asking for help from federal and state funds.
At a news conference, Adams noted that one in five people in the city’s shelter system is an asylum seeker.
Many of those arriving are families with school-age children and are in dire need of medical attention, he said.
The influx is on track to cost New York $1 billion this fiscal year, and the mayor is asking for federal and state funds to cover the costs.
“The city will run out of funds for other priorities,” Adams said. “New York is doing everything it can, but we are reaching the limits of our ability to help.”
tension between states
three states, Texas, Arizona and Floridahave announced initiatives to move migrants to states led by Democrats, defining them as “sanctuary” jurisdictions that do not enforce immigration laws.
The leaders of those states say that the measure is aimed at mitigating the impact of migratory flows on local communities.
The transfer of migrants seeks to increase pressure on the White House to apply mechanisms to reduce the number of people crossing the southern border of the United States, an influx that reached record numbers this year.
Adams said the city’s social services are “being exploited by others for political gain.”
As part of his emergency declaration, the mayor will issue a executive order allowing the city to dedicate resources to support asylum seekers and speed up any response effort.
A spokesman for Texas Governor Greg Abbott rejected the New York mayor’s statement.
“The real emergency is at our nation’s southern border, where small Texas border towns are invaded and overwhelmed by hundreds of migrants every day as the Biden administration dumps them into their communities,” said Renae Eze.
In addition, he indicated that Texas has sent about 3,100 immigrants to the state to New York in more than 60 buses.
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