NEW YORK, CMC – Mayor Eric Adams has filed a US$708 million lawsuit against 17 charter bus and transportation companies as New York City seeks to recoup the funds it has incurred in providing emergency shelter and services to Caribbean and other migrants.
Many of the migrant and asylum seekers arriving in New York from the Southern Border of the United States are nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Last week, Adams issued an executive order restricting how buses of asylum seekers sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott could arrive in New York City.
Adams said Abbott has admitted to facilitating the transport of more than 33,600 migrants to New York City since 2020 without having the companies transporting those migrants pay for continued care in violation of New York’s Social Services Law.
The mayor told a press conference that the lawsuit seeks to recoup the hundreds of millions of dollars incurred to care for all these individuals, costs moving forward for any of those migrants still in New York City’s care, and costs for all those who are transported to New York City from Texas in the future as part of Governor Abbott’s plan.
“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone,” Adams said, adding, “Today, we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas Governor Abbott’s scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system.
“These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that’s why we are suing to recoup approximately US$700 million already spent to care for migrants sent here in the last two years by Texas.
“Governor Abbott’s continued use of migrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane but makes clear he puts politics over people. Today’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to all who break the law this way.”
New York City’s chief lawyer, Barbadian-born Sylvia Hinds-Radix, said this case is “part of New York City’s effort to deal with a growing national humanitarian crisis.
“This lawsuit seeks to enjoin these companies from participating in an unlawful scheme and hold them fully accountable,” she said.
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