There’s been a major escalation in the war between the Democrats over who’s to blame for the migrant crisis that has 100,000 immigrants camped out in New York City with no place to go.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently lit up Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, blaming them for mishandling the migrants that have flooded the Empire State.
“The structural issues include governance and organization of the migrant operations, including issues of authority, structure, personnel, and information flow,” Mayorkas wrote in letters to two of the state’s top Democrats. “The operational issues include the subjects of data collection, planning, case management, communications, and other aspects of day-to-day operations.”
The Washington lecture came after Hochul broke the usual veil of unity between the Democrats and blamed President Biden for the mess she and Adams have on their hands. The migrant crisis “originated with the federal government, and it must be resolved with the federal government,” Hochul said in exasperation after her poll numbers dived thanks to voter disapproval over the way she’s been handling the problem.
The New York officials have been pleading with the Biden administration for more money to support the migrants, but have gotten the cold shoulder. A meeting between Adams and Mayorkas a few weeks back resulted in no federal largesse, but only a promise to appoint a liaison to mollify the city. Hochul’s request to use the federally controlled Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn for a massive migrant camp went nowhere for months because she had the nerve to ask for Washington money to pay for it. Once she said state taxpayers would cover the cost, the permission was quickly granted.
Aside from real estate to relocate the immigrants from city shelters and hotels, money has been the big issue in dealing with the crisis. The governor is quickly burning through the $1.5 billion she put in this year’s state budget for migrant services and Adams is reporting that his “Sanctuary City” hospitality will cost the taxpayers more than $12 billion over the next two years.
As reflected in Hochul’s tanking poll numbers, New Yorkers have had enough. They know full well that it’s Biden’s open border policy—carried out with alacrity by Mayorkas—that has caused the problem, in conjunction with robust support from every Democrat in the state.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Sydney Phoenix | DHS
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Prior to a meeting with a Queens’ delegation of elected officials concerned about the crisis, Adams hit them with a questionnaire asking what they’re doing to address the problem.
The main concern of Mayorkas in his communique to Hochul and Adams is improving migrant data collection, better communications, and bolstering information for the migrants regarding their ability to apply for work and asylum. “We are hopeful that our recommendations will equip the city to take additional steps to improve the migrant operations and maximize the value of our continued partnership and your support,” Mayorkas said.
“New Yorkers deserve the facts, so let’s be clear: Our requests from the federal government remain the same and, quite frankly, are unaddressed,” an Adams spokesperson said. These include a “decompression strategy at the border,” expedited work authorizations for asylum-seekers, and the declaration of a state of emergency to get more federal aid to the city, which has reportedly spent $1.7 billion on programs and services so far.
Last year, the state experienced a “Red Wave” of Republican voters ticked off over the crime wave induced in their communities by the cashless bail law, Defund the Police, and anti-law enforcement of the Democrats. The GOP is looking for another wave in November as the Democrats struggle to break free from the migrant albatross they’ve put around their own necks.