NYC sues bus companies bringing thousands of migrants from Texas

Tensions between New York City and Texas officials are growing as tens of thousands of migrants have been put on buses and sent to the Big Apple. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city has filed a lawsuit against 17 bus companies for $708 million.

According to the lawsuit, since the beginning of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, more than 33,000 migrants have been put on buses and sent to New York City, which is struggling to keep up with the financial burden of caring for the migrants. 

“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,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that’s why we are suing to recoup approximately $700 million already spent to care for migrants sent here in the last two years by Texas.”

Gov. Abbott fired back and said the lawsuit is baseless and should be sanctioned.

“It’s clear that Mayor Adams knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution or about the constitutional right to travel that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Abbott said. “Every migrant bused or flown to New York City did so voluntarily, after having been authorized by the Biden Administration to remain in the United States. As such, they have constitutional authority to travel across the country that Mayor Adams is interfering with. If the Mayor persists in this lawsuit, he may be held legally accountable for his violations.”

The lawsuit cites a New York state law that requires anyone who brings a person in need to the state to support them at their own expense. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defended the lawsuit brought by Mayor Adams. As of Thursday, Jan. 4, the county clerk had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.