NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The mayors of New York City, Denver, and Chicago have joined forces, implementing new measures and policies to reduce the flow of buses transporting migrants to their cities.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, held a joint virtual news conference Wednesday calling on the Biden administration to do more to help.
Their collective goal is to curb the surge of migrants arriving by bus from the southern border, a trend attributed to the directives of Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott.
Over the past two weeks, New York City has received more than 7,000 migrants, all undergoing the intake process at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Daily arrivals of busloads, sometimes in the early morning, led Adams to issue a new executive order, requiring charter buses arriving from Texas to now provide a 32-hour notice before dropping off migrants. Additionally, their arrivals are restricted to 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and they’re only allowed to drop off migrants at designated spots.
Adams emphasized that non-compliant drivers risk misdemeanor charges, potential fines, lawsuits, and the impoundment of their buses.
Chicago now demands that buses drop off migrants during approved weekday hours and at a specific migrant drop-off zone in the city’s West Loop with arrivals limited to two per hour.
Denver has implemented similar regulations, requiring chartered buses to arrive between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, NewsNation affiliate KDVR reports.
Collectively, the mayors stress the need for additional support.
New York City has received 161,000 migrants since last year, Chicago 26,000, and Denver 35,000. Despite the numbers, buses and migrants continue to arrive nearly every day.
The mayors assert that the Biden administration’s efforts to help them manage the migrant crisis fall short, despite countless requests and numerous meetings with White House officials.
Though the mayors will no longer allow busses to arrive without notice or at unconventional hours, they won’t turn away migrants.
“To be clear, this is not stopping people from coming, but about ensuring the safety of migrants and making sure they can arrive in a coordinated and orderly way,” Adams said.
Meanwhile, Abbott’s office said: “The sheer hypocrisy of these democrat mayors knows no bounds. They are now going to extreme lengths to avoid fulfilling their self-declared sanctuary city promises.”
Despite the cities cracking down on buses, Abbott doesn’t appear to show signs of easing busing, as he started flying migrants to Chicago earlier this month.
“Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission. Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago,” Abbott wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief.”
Abbott’s office said migrants sign up for transport out of Texas voluntarily. So far, his administration has bused nearly 83,000 migrants to sanctuary cities.