More Buses With Illegal Immigrants Arrive in NYC Despite New Restrictions: Report

Illegal immigrants board a bus en-route to a shelter at Port Authority Bus Terminal, in New York City on May 18, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Despite New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ new restrictions on the transport of illegal immigrants into the city, more migrant buses arrived in the city overnight, per reports.

Mr. Adams’ order mandates that charter firms operating buses carrying illegal immigrants must notify the city’s Emergency Management Office at least 32 hours before arriving in New York—and such buses are only permitted to arrive on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and noon.

However, despite the order, six migrant buses arrived in the early morning hours of Dec. 29 at Port Authority Bus Terminal, WABC reports. There was no enforcement action on the part of Port Authority officers.

According to Fox5 New York, the buses carrying illegal immigrants arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

It was not immediately clear whether the buses in question were operated by charter bus companies or existing carriers operating with Port Authority-issued permits to operate at the bus terminal.

Although Mr. Adams’ order went into effect immediately upon signing on Dec. 27, there’s a 32-hour grace period so the buses that arrived on Friday morning are likely to be exempt from any sanctions.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority directed inquiries to Mayor Adams’ office, which did not return a request for comment and more information by publication time.

Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel at City Hall, told Fox5 New York that the Adams administration is serious about enforcing the new rules.

Illegal immigrants carry their belongings to a bus after accepting relocation after being evicted from the Watson Hotel in New York City on Jan. 30, 2023. Michael Santiago/Getty Images

Executive Order

Amid record numbers of people crossing the southern border unlawfully and overwhelming local communities, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been bussing illegal immigrants to Democrat-run cities, including New York.

“Texas will bus migrants to sanctuary cities until Biden secures the border,” Mr. Abbott said in a Nov. 29 post on X. “Our mission provides vital relief to border towns.”

But with New York City’s shelter system buckling under the weight of the migrant arrivals, Mr. Adams has sought to push back on these transports.

He issued an emergency executive order on Wednesday that imposes curbs on charter bus companies transporting illegal immigrants from Texas.

“New York City has seen a significant increase in chartered buses dropping off passengers at random locations throughout Midtown Manhattan in recent weeks, without any prior notice to city officials,” Mr. Adams’ office stated on Dec. 27. “This is hampering the city’s ability to manage this humanitarian crisis, including efforts to provide emergency services as needed to migrants.”

Mr. Adams’ office said that last week, 14 “rogue” buses with illegal immigrants arrived from Texas in a single night, in addition to migrants arriving by other means.

“This executive order will also ensure safe, orderly, and coordinated bus arrivals going forward, and will hold accountable those bus companies that refuse to coordinate with us,” Mr. Adams said in a statement, in which he also said that an additional 25,000 arrivals are expected in the coming days and weeks.

Under Mr. Adams’ new rules, drop-off hours are restricted to a narrow window between 8:30 a.m. and noon on weekdays, with their sole designated location for drop-offs being on West 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Manhattan.

“We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning any hour of day and night. This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly way, but it puts those who have already suffered so much in danger,” Mr. Adams said at a virtual press conference on Dec. 27.

Failure to comply with the new regulations could result in severe consequences, including class B misdemeanor charges, fines, lawsuits, and the impoundment of buses, per the mayor.

City officials have said that over 161,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the start of the crisis in the spring of 2022. More than 68,000 remain in city care, city officials said Tuesday.

Renae Eze, Mr. Abbott’s director of communications, said that Democrat mayors like Mr. Adams should be calling on their own party leaders to secure the border instead of attacking efforts from Texas to transport illegal immigrants away from border communities to ease the burden on local residents and shelter infrastructure.

“The sheer hypocrisy of these Democrat mayors knows no bounds,” she told the Houston Chronicle, accusing cities like New York of going to extreme lengths to stop the Texas buses while, at the same time, declaring themselves as sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during his weekly press conference at New York City Hall on Nov. 14, 2023. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Texas Grants Police Power to Arrest Illegal Immigrants

In a bid to push back against the influx of illegal immigrants into border communities, Mr. Abbott recently signed a border security bill into law that gives state law enforcement the authority to arrest migrants who have entered Texas.

Under the new rules, which were signed into law on Dec. 18, all law enforcement officials in the state of Texas would have the authority to detain migrants suspected of entering the country unlawfully.

Texas builds its own border wall in its effort to secure the border. Courtesy Office of Greg Abbott

Further, because the offense of crossing the border illegally is considered a misdemeanor, judges will have the authority to order defendants to leave the United States.

Some legal experts and organizations that advocate for immigrant rights have expressed opposition to the legislation, arguing that it conflicts with the jurisdiction of the U.S. government to regulate immigration.

“Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Mr. Abbott, a Republican, said during a bill-signing ceremony at the border wall in Brownsville, Texas.

Like many Republicans, Mr. Abbott has long blamed President Joe Biden and his policies for the border crisis.

Biden administration officials have rejected such allegations, claiming they’re doing all they can to stem the influx.