Mayor Eric Adams blasts Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's "unimaginable" treatment of migrants as 2nd bus arrives in New York City
NEW YORK -- A second bus carrying migrants arrived Sunday in Manhattan from Texas.
It continues the fight between Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic cities over immigration policy. CBS2's Astrid Martinez spoke with immigration advocates on how this is impacting local services, all while the migrants are caught in the middle.
"We are here welcoming the new immigrants from Texas," taxi driver Richard Chou said.
New York immigrants greeted the busload of asylum seekers, which included men, women and children.
"I'm from Haiti and I am welcoming these people to New York City because that also hurting me the way Texas treats my own Haitian people," one person said.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal has become the center of an immigration confrontation. Abbott, a Republican, has been moving asylum seekers from overwhelmed border towns and busing them to New York City and other Democratic cities. Fourteen migrants arrived on Sunday, following 40 on Friday.
"We're finding that some of the families that are on the bus that wanted to go to other locations and they were not allowed to do so. They were forced on the bus," Mayor Eric Adams said.
Adams blasted Abbott's busing effort.
"It is unimaginable what the governor of Texas has done," Adams said. "When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who are fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we've always welcomed that. This governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to send the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families."
"This is horrific when you think about what the governor is doing, the governor of Texas, after months of traveling across the border, placing them on the bus with no direction," Adams added.
The mayor greeted the migrants on Sunday morning in a show of support. He is also calling on the federal government to help pay for resources and services the city will need.
The city's Department of Homeless Services has been struggling to meet demand.
"Fortunately, because it's New York they've been getting as much services as they can at the time, but it's really hard because there's so much need for them, housing and food," said Judy McQuistion, a volunteer at Al Otro Lado.
Immigration advocates say there needs to be coordination between states and agencies or havoc will ensue.
In June, CBS2 reported on a newly arrived migrant family that was separated at a shelter. The workers lost the family's grandmother for nearly two weeks. She was later found at a Harlem hospital.
"When that family was processed, they didn't handle it appropriately, obviously correctly, and hopefully they're going to be more careful this time," McQuistion said.
The migrants that just arrived will also need help from the city to navigate the courts. Since they have been processed by Customs and Border Protection, they are in this country legally as asylum seekers and need their work permits.