As the public war of words between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and New York City Mayor Eric Adams continues, 31 young adult migrants exited a bus around 7 a.m. Sunday at Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal, according to the New York Post.
Although former New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, called Abbott's strategy "brilliant," New York City Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Manuel Castro said the latest "bus full of asylum seekers coming from Texas" was part of a disgraceful "political ploy."
"We have serious issues about the way Gov. Abbott is treating asylum-seekers, especially because this is supposed to be a voluntary bus ride, and it appears that it’s not," Castro told reporters Sunday.
The commissioner was referencing reports about migrants who asked to get off the bus in Tennessee but were forced to ride all the way to New York City, as well as reports of sick and hungry migrants.
"We’re calling into question what Gov. Abbott is doing," Castro said. "This is a political ploy.
"We’ll talk to individuals, we’ll find out more," he continued. "In previous buses, people were sick, hungry, they had been through a lot. … There have been a lot of issues on the way here. As you may have heard, one individual, or many individuals, wanted to get off earlier, but the bus [driver] was refusing to."
The Post reports that city officials have been struggling to provide shelter for the homeless influx of migrants, which is required by law.
Paterson told WABC 770’s “Cats Roundtable” that Abbott’s political strategy is impressive.
"The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has come up with … one of the most brilliant political strategies I’ve heard in a long time," Paterson said during a broadcast that aired Sunday. "I'm a Democrat. And there are a lot of things I don't like about what he is doing. However, sometimes you have to tip your cap to your opponent."
"It has really paid dividends to him politically," Paterson said of the Lone Star State governor. "In addition, it has put New York’s Mayor Eric Adams in the position where he can’t say he won’t accept the immigrants."
A representative from City Hall told the Post that the migrants who arrived on Sunday originally were from Colombia and Venezuela. The city partnered with volunteers to provide them with food, water and clothing, as well as medical care and legal assistance, according to the city representative.
Volunteers eventually will help many of the migrants get to their final destinations in Kentucky, North Carolina, Chicago, and New Jersey.
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