NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order effective immediately for private buses carrying asylum seekers into New York City from Texas.
The executive order will require these charter buses to provide information about the people they are transporting and give 32 hours notice before arriving in the city.
Charter buses will now be required to drop off asylum seekers in the city only between 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. Monday through Friday at designated locations.
Drivers and bus companies that do not follow these requirements will face a Class B misdemeanor with possible fines, lawsuits and even risk having their buses impounded.
“We’re really saying to bus operators and companies, do not participate in Governor Abbott’s actions,” Mayor Eric Adams said when he announced the executive order Wednesday.
Many of the buses carrying asylum seekers have been sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“We need action and we need it now. New York City is a city built by immigrants. We will work together to emerge from this crisis together stronger than ever before, but this is a national problem. This has only be exacerbated by Governor Abbott’s cruel, inhumane policies,” Adams said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Abbott responded in part, “Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue busing migrants to sanctuary cities.”
Adams said more than 7,000 asylum seekers have gone through New York’s intake system in just the last two weeks.
Advocates say it makes sense the city wants to put more order in place when it comes to their arrival.
“The city should be doing more to welcome people and get them on their way as soon as possible. But at a minimum, it could receive the bus in a way that people can quickly be moved from the bus they’ve been on for a couple days to a city office where they can be assessed,” said Josh Goldfein, staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society.
In addition to more funding, Adams is calling on the federal government to come up with a coordinated entry plan for welcoming newcomers into the country.
