New York City Mayor Eric Adams cancels Washington, D.C. trip where he was due to discuss asylum seeker crisis
WASHINGTON -- Mayor Eric Adams suddenly canceled his trip Thursday to Washington, D.C.
Mayors from Chicago, Denver, and an Adams staffer met with senior White House officials to discuss the impact of the asylum seeker crisis on their cities.
Adams was scheduled to attend the meeting and posted on social media that he was on his way, but then canceled his schedule in the capital. A spokesperson said the mayor was heading home to deal with a matter related to the campaign.
CBS New York has since learned the FBI carried out a raid at the home of a major fundraiser for Adams.
On my way to DC to join my fellow mayors to talk with our federal partners about the asylum seeker crisis. Follow along throughout the day. pic.twitter.com/K6bvwP4gwQ
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 2, 2023
Though Adams spelled by a staffer in D.C. on Thursday, he did do an interview Wednesday night, saying the White House needed to secure the Southern border, ensure proper vetting and a strategy to send asylum seekers to the more than 800,000 municipalities in the country, instead of just major cities.
"It's critical for us that this package passes over the next several weeks to get funding to cities. Otherwise, we'll have catastrophic impacts," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said.
"The city of Chicago, it's costing us $40 million per month to operate the full wraparound services that we're providing," Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said. "That is not sustainable right by the end of this year."
Over the weekend, Adams, along with the mayors of Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, sent a letter to President Joe Biden outlining those requests, as well as asking for an additional $5 billion to cover costs already incurred.
More than 130,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York since last spring. Last month, the mayor's office said the number of migrants coming each week jumped from 2,400 to 4,000.
As the city struggles to find emergency housing, in a few days tents for families at Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, Brooklyn will open to serve 2,000 migrants.
However, the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless are asking the mayor to consider only housing single adults there, citing tight sleeping quarters and difficulty accessing bathrooms that are outdoors.
The mayors were to meet with members of the House of Representatives later Thursday. That meeting was to be lead by New York Rep. Jerry Nadler. They were also set to meet with the Senate.