A migrant bus from Texas arrives at the Port Authority terminal in New York, the United States, on Aug. 29, 2022. New York City, the most populous in the United States, has been receiving migrant buses from the south central state of Texas in recent weeks, which strains the city's support system and adds tensions among officials from different states and functions. (Photo by Emma Li/Xinhua)
NEW YORK, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- New York City, the most populous in the United States, has been receiving migrant buses from the south central state of Texas in recent weeks, which strains the city's support system and adds tensions among officials from different states and functions.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday that nearly 7,600 migrants have arrived in the city since May, which leaves city officials scrambling to find adequate shelters for them.
Around 5,700 migrants are now staying in city shelters, with over 10 hotels contracted to provide shelter to migrants and other homeless people on an emergency basis, according to Adams.
Adams added that New York City itself has over 52,000 homeless people, who rely on the city for shelter.
It's reported that around 1,000 children from asylum-seeking families will enroll in public schools in the city this fall.
The Republican-controlled Texas government has been sending migrants to Democrats-dominated Washington, D.C., and New York City via charter buses in the last few months.
Texas, which borders Mexico, has bused over 7,400 migrants to Washington, D.C., since April and over 1,500 to New York City since Aug. 5, according to a press release issued by the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has repeatedly requested deployment of the National Guard in the capital city to help handle an influx of migrants and prevent a prolonged humanitarian crisis.
Sending migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C., and New York City is throwing the federal system for processing migrants "out of whack" due to lack of coordination, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Moreover, the treatment of migrants in the process including bar-coding imposed on them draws attention and criticism from officials and the public.
New York City Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Manuel Castro said the treatment the migrants received in Texas is to be condemned.
Castro accused Abbott of "using human beings to create anti-immigrant and anti-Latino hatred" and "weaponizing asylum seekers."
"It is shameful, and it is our moral obligation to condemn the use of human beings for political purposes," said Castro earlier.
Adams and Abbott also exchanged criticism of each other recently, heating up the debate about migration policy and highlighting the deep division on the issue between states and the federal government.
However, the busing mission is providing much-needed relief to the overwhelmed border communities in Texas, according to the press release from Abbott's office.
Texas is implementing Operation Lone Star, a multi-agency effort, to "fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden administration's refusal to secure the border," and the effort has led to numerous migrant apprehensions and criminal arrests, according to the press release. ■
Migrants arrive at the Port Authority terminal in New York, the United States, on Aug. 29, 2022. New York City, the most populous in the United States, has been receiving migrant buses from the south central state of Texas in recent weeks, which strains the city's support system and adds tensions among officials from different states and functions. (Photo by Emma Li/Xinhua)
