First Bus of Migrants Arrives in NYC from Gov. Abbott in Texas

Just a few days after Mayor Eric Adams turned down Gov. Greg Abbott’s invite to visit the southern border, the Texas governor sent a taste of President Biden’s migrant surge to NYC’s front doorstep, with the first busload of border-migrants arriving in Manhattan Friday morning.

Abbott also promised to continue sending migrants NYC’s way, which he called an ideal destination due to the city’s generous treatment of homeless people.

The green charter bus spent about 30 minutes circling the Port Authority terminal in Midtown Manhattan before being allowed to enter and park at Gate 14.

Port Authority officials were apparently caught off-guard when the bus showed up. A group of unidentified charity workers greeted the migrants when they disembarked and took them away a short time later.

“More than 50 migrants were relocated from Texas to the Big Apple,” Abbott’s office spokesperson said.

The move marked an expansion of the Republican governor’s program to transport migrants by bus to Washington, DC, where more than 6,100 have been sent since April.

“Because of President Biden’s continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe,” Abbott said Friday in a statement posted online.

“In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,” Abbott continued. “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.”

Abbott concluded his statement by saying, “As one of the few cities in America with right to housing laws, New York City is required to provide emergency shelter for every unhoused person.”

Last month, Adams revealed that the city’s shelter system was overloaded by nearly 3,000 migrants who’d arrived in the preceding weeks. That number has since swelled to more than 4,000, according to City Hall.

At the time, Adams, a Democrat, accused Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey of sending the migrants to New York, which both Republican governors denied.

Adams later called them cowards for sending away people who are seeking help and accused them of lying about the migrants sent to Washington so they could do a layover and then come to New York.

On Friday, mayoral press secretary Fabien Levy said, “Gov. Abbott is finally admitting to what we’ve known he’s been doing all along.”

“His continued use of human beings as political pawns is disgusting, and an embarrassing stain on the state of Texas,” Levy said. “New York will continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms, as we have always have, but we are asking for resources to help do so. We need Washington, DC’s assistance in dealing with the cruel political games being played by inept politicians like the governor of Texas.”

A family of four from Bogota, Colombia, ended up at the city’s homeless intake center for families in The Bronx.

“We came here because they said they would help us find a place to sleep to not have to stay in the street,” said the mom, who gave her name as Leidy.

Leidy said she and her husband Byron, both 28, brought their kids, Mariana, 7, and Nicolas, 13, to the US because they were having trouble finding work in their native country.

“It’s a little easier to enter the country now. Before it was very hard to come here with children,” she said.

Venezuelan migrant Jose Gregorio Forero said that the bus ride from Texas to New York City took more than a day, adding that he passed through eight countries before entering the US.

“It’s taken 31 days to get here, on foot and asking for rides,” he said.

Forero also said, “I hope to find work in the city, it’s very beautiful. I love it.”