(The Center Square) – The New York Supreme Court this month hammered the final nail in the coffin of a New York lawsuit against 17 busing companies contracted to transport illegal border crossers from Texas to New York City. It did so as New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned of ongoing budget constraints and recently announced budget cuts, blaming the migrant crisis.
In January, Adams sued 17 busing companies contracted to transport illegal border crossers from Texas to New York City. In August, the New York Supreme Court dismissed his request to halt their operations.
This month, the court granted Texas’ request for a dismissal, ending the 11-month saga.
Writing for the court, Justice Mary Rosado criticized the lawsuit, saying it used an “antiquated and unconstitutional law” from 1817. The law criminalized transporting indigent people into the state for the purpose of making a public charge. She pointed to court rulings to explain how the law is unconstitutional, including violating the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and “the fundamental right to travel.”
Despite unforeseen multi-million dollar costs to the city, for which it received tens of millions in federal grants, Justice Rosado said, “it is not the role of this court to create policy, be it immigration, budgetary, or social services. Rather, it is this court’s role to ensure the law is upheld, including this nation’s highest law, the United States Constitution.”
If Adams and others don’t like being inundated with illegal border crossers, she said, “the proper forum to reach a solution to the issues presented in this lawsuit is the United States Congress.” Instead, they asked the court “to enforce an antiquated, unconstitutional statute to infringe on an individual’s right to enter New York based on economic status.”
As soon as New York City began receiving illegal border crossers, Adams, a Democrat, blamed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. However, those arriving were either transported by the Biden administration or by Democratic officials from El Paso, Texas, The Center Square reported. Abbott has argued that Adams should instead blame President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
While Adams blamed Abbott, and as the lawsuit was ongoing, the city paid transportation costs for nearly 5,000 illegal border crossers to travel to Texas, including those who were bused from Texas to New York City, city officials have said.
After the case was dismissed, the mayor’s spokesperson, Liz Garcia, said, “We are reviewing our legal options to address the costs shifted to New York City as a result of the Texas busing scheme.”
Since Texas began its busing strategy in April 2022, nearly 120,000 illegal border crossers were bused to six so-called sanctuary cities. Since August 2022, more than 45,900 were bused to New York City, according to the latest data from the governor’s office.
Since April 2022, New York City’s five boroughs have received more than 130,000 illegal border crossers, with tens of thousands still housed in city shelters, Staten Island Advance reported.
Abbott recently explained his reasoning for busing illegal border crossers north, including to Harris’ Washington, D.C. residence, saying, “I got tired of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden not coming to the border and seeing the chaos they created. I sent them invitations, but they refused to show up. So, after a while, I decided if they’re not going to come see the border, I’m going to take the border to them. And thus began the busing program to Washington D.C., a sanctuary city.”
As Texas bused them there, Adams, “who by the way is now under indictment, criticized me for busing them to New York City. We proved by the paperwork we had never sent anybody to New York City, but it did not stop him from complaining,” he said.
“So, after a while, I thought, if I’m getting the criticism, I will get the credit. And we started busing to the sanctuary city of New York City.
“The point is this, it changed politics in the United States of America. Suddenly every state was a border state. Every town, every county was a border town and county. This was no longer a Texas crisis.”
While the federal government has not reimbursed Texas for its roughly $11 billion in border security costs so far, many Democratic-run cities nationwide, including New York City, received federal funds to cover hundreds of millions worth of migrant services.
Despite this, when announcing budget cuts, Adams said New Yorkers will soon see less services, again blaming costs associated with illegal border crossers.
“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces. … Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and COVID stimulus funding is drying up. No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning,” Adams said.
City officials estimate migrant-associated costs will reach roughly $12 billion over the next few years.
