Busloads of illegal immigrants en route for New York City are being dropped off at various train stations in New Jersey, state and local officials said, an apparent attempt to exploit a “loophole” in New York City’s latest order restricting their arrival.
According to a notice posted on Dec. 31, 2023, on the official X account for Jersey City, some 10 buses that departed from Texas and Louisiana have arrived at train stations in several New Jersey towns including Secaucus, Fanwood, Edison, and Trenton over the weekend.
“[Approximately] 397 migrants have arrived at these locations since Dec. 30,” the city said.
In Secaucus, a transportation hub for rail access between New Jersey and Manhattan, the police department and town officials confirmed the arrival of at least four migrant buses at the train station at Secaucus Junction. The first bus arrived on the morning of Dec. 30.
“From what we understand, after being dropped at the train station the migrants then took trains to New York City,” Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said on Dec. 31.
“It seems quite clear the bus operators are finding a way to thwart the requirements of the Executive Order by dropping migrants at the train station in Secaucus and having them continue to their final destination,” Mr. Gonnelli added, referring to the order issued this past week by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
As part of the effort to control the flow of migrant charter buses sent by southern border states to New York, the Dec. 22 order mandates that such buses can drop off their passengers only between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. on weekdays.
In addition, bus companies must notify the city’s emergency management office 32 hours in advance of the buses’ arrival.
Under the new rule, bus companies and operators that fail to comply would face a class B misdemeanor charge, with penalties including three months’ imprisonment and up to a $500 fine for individuals and $2,000 for corporations.
‘Their Final Destination’
“Perhaps the requirements Mayor Adams put in place are too stringent and are resulting in unexpected consequences as it seems the bus operators have figured out a loophole in the system in order to ensure the migrants reach their final destination, which is New York City,” said Mr. Gonnelli.“At this point in time, it seems train tickets are being secured for the migrants and they have been making their way to their final destination.”
In response to the maneuver, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also claimed that his state is “primarily being used as a transit point.” He noted that “all or nearly all of” the passengers continued with their travels to New York after being dropped on the west side of the Hudson River.
“We are closely coordinating with our federal and local partners on this matter, including our colleagues across the Hudson,” the Democrat governor’s office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Adams administration continues to criticize Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s initiative—which recently began transporting illegal migrants to Democrat-led cities via flights in addition to the buses—as “cruel,” even though those who accepted the one-way bus and plane tickets signed consent waivers before boarding.
“Texas Governor Greg Abbott continues to treat asylum seekers like political pawns, and is instead now dropping families off in surrounding cities and states in the cold, dark of night with train tickets to travel to New York City, just like he has been doing in Chicago in response to their similar executive order,” Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement.
“This is exactly why we have been coordinating with surrounding cities and counties since before issuing our order to encourage them to take similar executive action to protect migrants against this cruelty.”
Mr. Abbott, a Republican, began busing illegal immigrants to New York City and other self-proclaimed “sanctuary cities” in the spring of 2022 to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.
The Abbott administration, which so far has sent some 32,000 illegal immigrants to New York City, pledged to continue the transportation.
“The hypocrisy of Mayor Adams is astounding,” Renae Eze, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said in a statement after the New York mayor announced the executive order aimed at restricting migrant busing.
“Mayor Adams had touted New York City’s self-declared sanctuary city status, then sent his own buses of migrants out to small towns in New York,” she said.
“Texas has only transported about 32,000 migrants to New York City, while President Biden has been flying planeloads of migrants all around the country and oftentimes in the cover of night.”
