New Jersey's mayor says migrant buses bound for New York City are stopping at his town and other stations in an attempt to circumvent New York's executive order regulating how and when migrants can be dropped off. . City.
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said Sunday that Secaucus police and town officials were informed by Hudson County officials about buses arriving at the Secaucus Junction train station starting Saturday. He said four buses are believed to have arrived, dropped off the migrants, and then taken the train into New York City.
Gonnelli said a recent executive order signed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams requires bus operators to provide at least 32 hours' notice of arrival and limit drop-off times.
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“It is clear that bus operators are finding ways to thwart the executive order's requirement to drop off migrants at the Secaucus station and transport them to their final destinations,” Gonnelli said in a statement. He suggested the order could be “too harsh” and could have “unintended consequences.”
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli is interviewed in his office on June 15, 2023. Gonnelli said New York City-bound immigrant buses are stopping at the town's train station to circumvent the city's efforts to regulate immigrant arrivals. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
Gonnelli called the tactic a “loophole” that bus operators found to allow migrants to reach New York City, adding that state police “currently do not do anything like this at train stations across the state.” “is occurring,” he added. Gonnelli vowed to work with state and county officials and “continue to closely monitor this situation.”
According to a message posted on Jersey City's social media accounts, the city's Office of Emergency Management said “approximately 10 buses will arrive from various locations in Texas, and one bus from Louisiana will travel to Secaucus, Fanwood, and Edison. , arriving at various transit stations across the state, including Trenton.” . ” About 397 migrants have arrived at these locations since Saturday, according to the Sunday Post.
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“This is clearly a statewide conversation, so it's important to wait for guidance from the governor on next steps,” the post said, as buses continue to operate.
Tyler Jones, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, told lehighvalleylive.com that New Jersey is used as a transit point for migrants, with nearly all of the migrants heading to New York City. Jones said New Jersey officials are working closely with federal and local authorities “including our colleagues across the Hudson River.”
Last week, Adams joined the mayors of Chicago and Denver in renewing their call for more federal aid and coordination with Texas to address the growing number of asylum seekers arriving in those cities by bus and plane. Ta.
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“We cannot allow buses full of people in need to arrive at any time of the day or night without warning,” Adams said in a virtual press conference with other mayors on Wednesday. “This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly manner, but also puts those already suffering at great risk.”
Democratic mayors who met with President Joe Biden last month are pushing for more federal funding, efforts to expand work permits and schedules for bus arrival times. Cities have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars housing, transporting and providing medical care for immigrants.
