WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Eric Adams will meet Thursday with several congressional leaders and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to discuss his city’s growing population of migrants.
Adams has said his goal is to secure more assistance from the federal government, including covering the massive cost facing New York City to house and care for migrants. This marks the 10th time the Democratic mayor has traveled to Washington to address the challenges New York faces related to the migrants, he told reporters Tuesday.
“The goal is to constantly go there, be front and center and raise the concerns of how this is impacting our city. And that’s the goal,” Adams said.
Adams is scheduled to separately meet Thursday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. He’s also expected to meet with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he has any meetings at the White House. His office and the White House did not immediately return requests for comment.
Adams said he believes the federal government should cover the cost of addressing the migrant situation over the next three years, adding that it should not fall on New York City taxpayers. The mayor said it will cost an estimated $12 billion over the next three years, according to New York City Office of Management and Budget Director Jacques Jiha.
“This is a national problem that should not fall on the backs of local cities,” he said Tuesday.
Adams has criticized FEMA for months for using funding to bus migrants to New York City. In an interview on MSNBC in May, the mayor said it’s “not sustainable for us.”
“FEMA allocated out of the $350 million, only $30 million went to New York City. So we received the large sum of migrants in our city, but we’re not getting the funding to match,” Adams said. “The plan on our bordering states is simply to use the money from FEMA to bus migrants to New York City. That is just not a workable solution.”
In August, he called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency to manage the “crisis” at the border. Adams said in September that since spring 2022, more than 113,000 asylum-seekers have sought shelter in New York.
This comes as negotiations have stalled on Capitol Hill over legislation to address the influx of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans insist that it must be part of an emergency supplemental bill that would also provide aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Republicans blocked the Senate from opening debate on such a measure Wednesday over a lack of border security provisions including rules to tighten U.S. asylum and parole laws in immigration proceedings.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
