‘We Have Not Asked For This’: NYC Mayor Declares State Of Emergency Over Illegal Immigration

On Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency over the influx of illegal immigrants arriving in his city on busses from Texas.

“This is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South America and is being accelerated by American political dynamics,” Adams said. “Thousands of asylum-seekers have been bused into New York City and simply dropped off without notice, coordination, or care — and more are arriving every day.”

“This crisis is not one of our own making, but one that will affect everyone in this city… New Yorkers are angry. I’m angry, too. We have not asked for this,” he added. “There was never any agreement to take on the job of supporting thousands of asylum seekers.”

NYC Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis, saying that the more than 17,000 asylum-seekers from Central America and South America are straining the city’s resources https://t.co/R90NZrqKcu pic.twitter.com/OGKUwU4szj

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) October 7, 2022

Adams’ comments come a year after he said during his campaign for mayor that “we should protect our immigrants” and that New York City would “remain a sanctuary city” if he was elected, meaning that his city would protect illegal immigrants from deportation.

“‘We should protect our immigrants.’ Period. Yes, New York City will remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration,” Adams wrote on Twitter at the time.

"We should protect our immigrants." Period.

Yes, New York City will remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration. #EricOnNBC

— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) October 20, 2021

Fiscal year 2022 has seen the highest level of illegal immigration on record, with an estimated 2.3 million arrests of illegal immigrants by border officials. By June of fiscal year 2022, illegal immigration had already broken the previous record set in fiscal year 2021 of 1,734,686 arrests. The entirety of fiscal year 2022 is now expected to shatter the previous record by around 600,000 arrests.