$700 Million Lawsuit: New York Increases Pressure on Migrants $700 Million Lawsuit: New York Increases Pressure on Migrants

Given the numerous irregular bus trips with migrants from Texas, New York is increasing the pressure and suing 17 logistics companies. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is taking aim at measures by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has been paying bus companies for a year and a half to specifically bring immigrants to the liberal metropolis. “For this reason, we are demanding the reimbursement of approximately $700 million already spent over the past two years on migrants brought here by buses from the state of Texas,” Adams said Thursday.

With the measure, Adams further escalates the dispute with Texas over the distribution of migrants. The east coast metropolis recently introduced stricter rules for the arrival of charter buses. Over the past year and a half, more than 150,000 immigrants have reached the city on the US east coast; many of them entered the country through the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

One of the reasons New York draws so many people is the city’s legal obligation to provide overnight accommodations to anyone who requests it. Now the city with eight million inhabitants is in danger of reaching the limits of its capacity. There was a lack of housing and financial resources.

Nearly 70,000 of the migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, who mainly come from South and Central American countries such as Venezuela, have been accommodated by the city government in emergency shelters in the city. Adams expects additional costs of around twelve billion dollars and sees Washington as responsible.

For Republican governors like Abbott, sending migrants to Democratic-leaning parts of the country is a political tactic. Illegal immigration is also one of the dominant issues in the 2024 US presidential election campaign. (sda/dpa)