Charter bus companies that transported migrants from Texas to New York City are being held accountable by Mayor Eric Adams, who says such companies should be held accountable for the skyrocketing costs of caring for asylum seekers. It agreed to halt the case while the court considers it.
Central Texas-based Roadrunner Charters is a major transportation company that flew migrants to Philadelphia in late December and early January, where Lone Star State officials flew them to Philadelphia and then directly to stations in New York or New Jersey. It was one of the best bus companies. a representative said Wednesday.
However, Roadrunner plans to no longer do so under a new agreement under which the company will attract immigrants to the Big Apple in exchange for the city not seeking preliminary injunctive relief. This will be prohibited, the official added.
At least two other companies that Adams is suing told the Post they are going one step further than the mayor.
“We haven’t been a part of this program in a while. We’ve only been to New York twice,” Buckeye Coaches LLC owner David Jones said Wednesday.
“When New York state presented its requirements, we were ready to comply,” he continued. “We’re not interested in politics, all of this is crazy to us. We just do interstate commerce… They hire us, we run the operations, and that’s it. ”
VLP Charters representatives echoed this sentiment, saying they no longer have contracts to move migrants.
A representative for the company said, “At the time the mayor sent the letter, the company was no longer in operation.”
Other companies were unsure or did not return calls when the Post tried to contact them.
“The state of Texas claims that Roadrunner, one of the bus companies we sued, is transporting tens of thousands of migrants to our city in an attempt to overwhelm the shelter system and shift costs to New York City. “I’m glad to know that the company has joined Governor Abbott’s plan to agree to halt bus transportation of immigrants to and around New York City while the lawsuit proceeds,” Adams said. said in a statement.
“We call on all other bus companies involved in this case to take similar action,” he continued. “Texas’ reckless political maneuvering will not be tolerated.”
In early January, the Adams administration filed a $700 million lawsuit against 17 bus companies that have transported more than 33,000 migrants halfway across the country since spring 2022 and dumped them on doorsteps in the Big Apple. argued as.
The companies say they are doing nothing in this effort with the “malicious intent” of supporting Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s plan to funnel migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border into Democratic-run cities such as New York, Chicago and Denver. He’s making a million dollars. The Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit argued:
According to Adams’ complaint, the bus company earned about $1,650 per passenger, which was five times the average cost of a one-way ticket from Texas to New York.
“These companies violated state law by failing to pay the costs of caring for these immigrants. Therefore, they will recover the approximately $700 million they have already spent caring for immigrants sent here from Texas over the past two years. We are suing for the same,” Adams said. time.
A city spokesperson said the city is asking businesses to pay for future emergency shelters and services and cover any future bills that may arise from Abbott’s plan.
The agreement with Roadrunner does not affect New York City’s ability to recover compensation if it wins in court, City Hall added.
Lawyers for Roadrunner could not immediately be reached Wednesday.
Nearly 185,000 immigrants have arrived in New York since spring 2022, and the city is caring for about 65,000, according to city statistics. This includes about 1,300 new arrivals each week in recent weeks.
The mayor’s administration has announced that it has already spent about $3.5 billion to combat the migrant crisis. And by the end of fiscal year 2025, he predicts a $12 billion price tag.
City officials said Texas is not named in the lawsuit because federal guidelines say states cannot sue each other without consent.
Mr. Abbott called the lawsuit “baseless.”
“It is clear that Mayor Adams knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution or the constitutional right to travel recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Abbott said in a statement after announcing the lawsuit.
“All immigrants who took buses or planes to New York City did so voluntarily after being given the authority by the Biden administration to remain in the United States.”
