With Eric Adams getting no sympathy from the Biden administration over his city’s illegal immigrant “crisis,” the New York City mayor is planning to visit Latin America and personally dissuade immigrants from choosing New York City as their illegal landing spot.
Adams announced that he plans to travel to Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Darien Gap, a challenging jungle region between Panama and Colombia. Leaders who visited the Darien Gap during the recent United Nations General Assembly reported to Adams that a substantial number of migrants were crossing through this region to head towards the U.S.-Mexico border.
The mayor intends to conduct a “public relations campaign” to counter online messaging targeting migrants in Central and South America with promises of a welcoming environment. He plans to appear on local TV and radio stations and speak with newspapers in Latin America to challenge the idea that reaching New York City guarantees an easy life for migrants.
Adams plans to tell it like it is to the illegal hopefuls. The goal of his public relations campaign is to present a more realistic portrayal of life in New York City to potential migrants in Central and South America. He aims to dispel the false promise that reaching the city guarantees luxurious living conditions by highlighting the large number of people living in crowded facilities.
The mayor emphasized that the city is already at full capacity, with around 10,000 migrants arriving monthly and about 600 new migrants daily (approximately 4,200 weekly). Adams said that New York received 117,000 illegal immigrants, but New York Governor Kathy Hochul places the total numbers closer to 125,000. New York has announced $38 million of new state funds to provide illegal immigrants with legal services.
Meanwhile, illegal immigrants are taking big bites out of the Big Apple. One 29-year-old man from Venezuela has been involved in at least three random attacks on strangers and two incidents with the police within the first two months of his arrival in New York City. He was arrested and released six times, facing a total of 14 different charges. This has raised concerns among law enforcement, as it is not an isolated incident, and there are concerns about the vetting and identification of migrants, some of whom are involved in violent crimes.
Adams “give it to them straight tour” announcement marked the first day of implementation of the federal rule extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. before July 31, 2023. York City announced its commitment to assist eligible Venezuelans in submitting their paper TPS applications, work authorization requests, and fee waiver forms. This support will be provided at the city’s Asylum Application Help Center, which is partly funded by state resources.
As the illegal immigrant crisis escalates, New York has been forced to open 210 emergency sites, including 17 large-scale humanitarian relief centers. The city has established navigation centers to connect illegal immigrants with resources and has enrolled numerous migrant children in public schools.
Mayor Adams will have his travel to Mexico sponsored by the U.S.-Mexico Foundation. He stated that he is personally covering the expenses for the other parts of the trip. The costs for his security detail will be covered by the city and managed by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau. Additionally, city commissioners Edward Mermelstein and Manuel Castro from the Office of International Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, respectively, are funding their own travel expenses for the trip.
Adams took an opportunity during his Tuesday press conference to criticize Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott once again, accusing him of contributing to the influx of migrants to New York City by busing 16,400 migrants there since August 2022 as a measure to alleviate the strain on border communities.
Yet Mayor Adams continues to advocate for an open border policy, asserting that “the borders should remain open.” He emphasized that New York City’s official stance supports open borders, but he also calls for a decompression strategy to effectively manage the high volume of migrants entering his own city. He believes that no city should bear the full burden of national immigration challenges. Notably, this stance contradicts his chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who recently faced criticism from city council members for her recommendation to close the southern border.
In other words, Adams shares the “keep ‘em coming but send them somewhere, anywhere, else” view of his fellow liberal city leaders.
Barbed wire fences, walls, military presence, and floating barriers aren’t enough to discourage illegal border crossings, but maybe a firm talking to by New York City Mayor Eric Adams will do the trick.
