New York mayor sues Texas bus companies for multimillion-dollar lawsuit: Here’s why

New York City Mayor Eric Adams It announced Thursday that it would sue more than a dozen transit and charter bus companies involved in transporting migrants to the city.

Adams specifically seeks $708 million in damages to the city from the economic efforts the metropolis has made to manage the attendance of more than 160,000 people.
People who came from Texas on a bus ordered by its governor, Greg Abbott.

It’s the second move announced by the mayor in days to combat a wave of Texas-driven immigration taking advantage of New York’s sanctuary nature.

However, buses continued to arrive without interruption across the Hudson River in New Jersey. From there, migrants continue their journey to the Big Apple.

“New York City has and will always do its part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the cost of the reckless political schemes of the state of Texas alone,” Adams said in a statement Thursday.

“Today we are taking legal action against 17 companies that participated in Texas Governor Abbott’s plan to transport thousands of immigrants to New York City in an attempt to gut our social services system.”

The lawsuit alleges the companies violated New York state law by paying for the migrants’ care, for which it seeks more than $700 million in damages.

Mayor Adams relies on state regulation requiring anyone who brings a person in need to help or be removed from the state because they are becoming a public charge.

“Governor Abbott’s continued use of immigrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane, it makes it clear that he is putting politics before people. Today’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to all who violate the law in this way,” Adams said.

Along with Adams, the mayors of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, and Mike Johnson, of Denver, have sharply criticized the Texas governor and his campaign to send asylum seekers to cities run by Democratic mayors, saying Buses arrive at all hours and outside designated drop-off zones, with no details of who is on board or measures to ensure their safety..

“We cannot allow buses with people to come in without prior notice at any time of the day or night,” Adams said in a virtual press conference with other mayors a few days ago.

Denver and Chicago have implemented similar rules regarding the arrival of asylum seekers on weekdays during certain hours.

More than 161,000 immigrants have arrived in New York since spring 2022, of which 30,000 are from Texas. Since it is a sanctuary city, it has an obligation to shelter any homeless person.

Local officials estimate that the influx of migrants — 70,000 of them are still in New York shelters — will cost the city about $12 billion over three years.

With information from the Associated Press.