New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday that the city is suing 17 charter bus and transportation companies in an attempt to recoup costs it has incurred while providing shelter for migrants transported by the services—the latest development in a months-long migrant busing crisis ignited by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has sent tens of thousands of migrants to cities run by Democrats.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced the lawsuit on Thursday. (Photo by Barry Williams for NY Daily News ... [+]
New York City aims to recoup $708 million in migrant shelter and service costs it has provided in the last 20 months, according to a statement released by the city.
The lawsuit alleges the transportation services have acted in “bad faith” and with “evil intent,” citing an Axios report that revealed the services receive about $1,650 per transported person from Texas, a large difference from the $291 needed for a single one-way ticket, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims that under Abbott’s migrant busing plan, charter bus and transportation companies have made millions from transporting migrants to places like New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
The companies, some of which are family owned and operated, include Classic Elegance Coaches, Coastal Crew Change, Mayo Tours and Wynne Transportation.
More than 33,000 migrants have been bussed to New York City, according to the lawsuit, which cites data from Abbott.
In addition to cost recuperation, the $708 million sought by New York City will be used toward costs for migrants still in the city’s care and costs for migrants transported to the city from Texas in the future.
Representatives for Abbott and four of the charter bus companies didn’t immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
“Governor Abott continues to use human beings as political pawns, and it’s about time that the companies facilitating his actions take responsibility for their role in this ongoing crisis,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement praising the lawsuit, though the state is not involved in the suit. “If they are getting paid to break the law by transporting people in need of public assistance into our state, they should be on the hook for the cost of sheltering those individuals — not just passing that expense along to hard-working New Yorkers.”
The lawsuit comes about a week after Adams issued an executive order designed to manage the influx of migrants sent to New York City by Abbott. The executive order requires migrant charter buses contracted by the state of Texas to announce their arrival at least 32 hours in advance. It also limits the buses to dropping migrants off in the city between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. on weekdays. New York City said in its statement that several of the bus companies included in the lawsuit are evading compliance with the executive order by dropping migrants off at New Jersey train stations and then having them take trains to New York City. White House officials have called Abbott’s migrant charter bus plan a “publicity stunt” while many Democrats have blasted Abbott for it. The move by Abbott has inspired other Republican-led states to do the same including Arizona, which has transported more than 25,000 migrants since Gov. Katie Hobbs took office last January, according to Axios.
NYC Mayor Adams Declares State Of Emergency Amid Migrant Busing Crisis (Forbes)
Mayor Adams announces executive order aimed at restricting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing (Politico)