New York City sues bus companies that transport immigrants from Texas for over $700 million
Misty Severi
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New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced a major lawsuit against 17 bus and transportation companies on Thursday. The companies are helping to transport thousands of immigrants to the city from the U.S. southern border.
Adams, who has been urging the federal government to send more money and resources to New York to help with the immigrant crisis, is seeking $708 million to help cover the costs of caring for the immigrants. Adams has projected that the crisis will cost the city a total of $12 billion over the next three years.
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“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 in a statement.
“Today, we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas Governor [Greg] Abbott’s scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system.”
Adams added that the bus services violated New York law by not covering the costs of the immigrants.
“As of November 27, 2023, the Defendants have earned millions of dollars in revenues from Texas for implementing the Texas Governor’s plan,” the lawsuit alleged.
Section 149 of the New York Social Services law states that any person “who knowingly brings, or causes to be brought a needy person from out of state into this state for the purpose of making him a public charge … shall be obligated to convey such person out of state or support him at his own expense.”
The move from Adams was supported by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who has also asked the federal government to step in and help. The White House has claimed the Biden administration takes the immigration topic seriously but that Congress is the only body that could authorize more relief for the sanctuary cities that are dealing with the crisis.
“Governor Abbott continues to use human beings as political pawns, and it’s about time that the companies facilitating his actions take responsibility for their role in this ongoing crisis,” Hochul said in a statement. “If they are getting paid to break the law by transporting people in need of public assistance into our state, they should be on the hook for the cost of sheltering those individuals — not just passing that expense along to hard-working New Yorkers. I’m proud to support the mayor’s lawsuit.”
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The lawsuit also comes shortly after Adams issued an executive order in December requiring buses to give the city 32 hours notice before arriving and only to drop off the passengers at certain designated locations. Failure to do so could result in a fine. However, the bus companies began dropping off immigrants in New Jersey in order to dodge the new rules.
New York City has seen more than 164,000 immigrants flood its streets since spring 2022, and the city has spent more than $3.5 billion on providing housing and aid.