March 27th 2024.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams had been planning to take a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, but unfortunately, he had to cancel it due to concerns for his safety. The trip was scheduled for March 24th and was meant to include visits to Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. The purpose of the trip was to meet with U.S. immigration leaders and discuss the city's struggles with providing housing for new migrants seeking asylum. However, Adams' spokesperson, Amaris Cockfield, explained that the U.S. State Department had raised safety concerns about one of the stops, forcing them to cancel the trip.
The trip had originally been arranged by Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande, Sister Norma Pimentel. Adams' team was looking forward to meeting with religious leaders ahead of Holy Week and discussing their work in New York City. They were also hoping to find ways to collaborate with leaders from other cities across the country. Cockfield stated, "As Lent comes to an end, our team was eager to stand in solidarity with faith and humanitarian leaders who have dedicated themselves to serving the most vulnerable members of our society. We were excited to discuss our efforts in New York City and explore new ways to work together with leaders from other cities."
Adams had always been a strong advocate for migrants, welcoming them with open arms to the city that never sleeps. In fact, in June 2023, he had announced a two-year partnership with New York Disaster Interfaith Services. This partnership allowed for 50 houses of worship or faith-based spaces to provide shelter for up to 19 single adult men at each location. Adams had expressed his pride in this partnership and had even announced plans to open five offsite daytime centers to provide resources and support for those in need.
However, things began to change six months later. In an effort to control the number of migrants being sent to the city by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Adams signed an executive order in December 2023. This order limited the times when charter buses could drop off migrants in the city. The decision came after 14 charter buses arrived in the city from Texas in a single night. The order now requires charter bus companies to give at least 32 hours notice before dropping off migrants and to only do so during certain times of the day.
In January 2024, Adams visited El Paso and criticized the federal government's response to the influx of immigrants in cities far from the border. He had also taken a four-day tour through Latin America in October 2023, making stops in Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia. During this tour, he urged people to stop making the dangerous journey to the U.S.
Over the past two years, almost 180,000 migrants have arrived in the city's five boroughs. This has led to more than 64,000 people being placed in the city's care through over 200 emergency shelters. In response to the overwhelming number of migrants, city officials and human rights advocates reached a deal to suspend the city's "right to shelter" policy. This policy, known as the "Homeless Bill of Rights," was meant to provide stronger legal protections for the homeless population after the city saw a record number of people in its shelter system. It had been passed with support from both political parties in the City Council, but the arrival of 70,000 international migrants last spring had pushed the shelters beyond capacity.
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