New Jersey Democrats divided as immigrants dropped off in state to bypass New York bus restrictions
Eden Villalovas
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Democratic mayors in New Jersey have divided approaches on how to handle the flow of immigrants arriving by bus in the state to bypass New York City’s latest restrictions.
In an order issued last week by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, charter bus companies are required to provide New York City emergency management officials with a manifest of their passengers and provide at least a 32-hour notice before they are dropped off. Modeled after ordinances in Chicago, Adams also set designated times for buses to arrive — between 8:30 a.m. and noon on weekdays at a single loading zone.
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New Jersey officials said immigrants are now being dropped off at train stations such as Jersey City, Secaucus, and Trenton to avoid the mayor’s order. Hundreds of them were sent from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
Mayors in New Jersey and New York have blamed Abbott but differed in how they want to respond to the crisis.
Democratic Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said in a Facebook post on Monday that he “instructed our law enforcement and emergency management departments to charter a bus to transport the illegal migrants right back to the southern Texas/Mexican border.”
“Our border policies need to be strengthened to stop illegal migrants from entering our country,” Joshi said, adding he’ll “support only legal immigration.”
Joshi’s statement prompted a response from a fellow Democratic official, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who called for a “statewide solution” while urging compassion.
“We must be smart in how we approach this and have a statewide solution but also we MUST be compassionate first here and help where we can,” Fulop said, noting his familial roots as refugees who fled the Holocaust.
“Our values in Jersey City and New Jersey have never been about turning our back to people in need + we shouldn’t start now because a political sound bite is easy,” Fulop wrote Tuesday on X.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, a Democrat, told Politico he was considering a similar executive order to Adams’s to restrict drop-offs but reconsidered after speaking with Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), adding he’ll need the cooperation of the City Council.
“I think all municipalities and the city should have some certitude of how many visitors they’re getting,” Gusciora said. “And the times of their arrivals would be very helpful.”
Adams’s and Murphy’s offices are in contact about the situation and are in discussion with Texas officials.
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“Our Administration has tracked the recent arrival of a handful of buses of migrant families at various NJ Transit train stations,” Tyler Jones, a Murphy spokeswoman, said. “New Jersey is primarily being used as a transit point for these families — all or nearly all of them continued with their travels en route to their final destination of New York City.”
“We are closely coordinating with our federal and local partners on this matter, including our colleagues across the Hudson,” she added.