Around 7,200 more migrants have arrived in New York in the past two weeks, with the city struggling to cope
Texas put another almost 200 migrants on a plane Tuesday to send to a so-called "sanctuary city," this time New York, with the city's mayor urging the White House to declare a national emergency.
The plane, chartered from El Paso, was due to arrive unannounced at JFK Airport, but was diverted to Philadelphia due to fog. Those onboard were then put on buses and sent to NYC.
This is the second time within a week that Texas has sent migrants north via plane. On Dec. 20, a plane arrived unannounced at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
NYC's Deputy Mayor for Communications, Fabien Levy, took to X Wednesday morning to call out Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
"Last night—in another inhumane act of treating human beings like political pawns— [Gov. Abbott] attempted to send us an unannounced & uncoordinated chartered plane with migrants that was diverted to Philly due to weather but whose passengers were then transported here via bus," Levy posted as part of a thread.
The Deputy Mayor, who speaks on behalf of Mayor Eric Adams, said some 7,200 migrants had arrived in the city within the past two weeks. In one night alone, 14 buses from Texas showed up unannounced.
- NYC Mayor Adams Restricts Bus Arrivals in Effort to Slow Migrant Surge Amid City’s Crisis
- Texas Sends Another Unannounced Busload of Migrants to Chicago: ‘No Food, Nothing to Do’
- 22nd Bus Full of Migrants Arrives in Los Angeles From Texas Since June
- NYC Mayor Adams Under Fire For Seeking to Bus Migrants to Suburbs
- Another Bus Bringing Migrants Arrives in New York as City ‘Out of Room’
- Texas Ships Fifth Bus of Migrants to Downtown LA
"NYC, like many other cities, has stepped up throughout this humanitarian crisis, leading the nation's response, and has helped nearly 60% of the more than 161,000 migrants who have come through our intake system move out of shelter and take the next steps in their journeys," Levy added.
"While we are grateful for the help our federal partners have provided thus far, simply put, we need more. We are once again calling for a federal emergency declaration, additional financial support, and a national resettlement strategy."
Mayor Adams has asked President Biden frequently for a meeting on the issue, voicing his latest frustrations on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday lunchtime, Abbott's office had not claimed responsibility for the latest flight.
There are growing calls for more to be done to tackle the issue of thousands showing up at the southwest border on a daily basis, fueled by misinformation from smugglers.