New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday said the influx of tens of thousands of migrants will bring a "financial tsunami" as departments across the board are forced to slash budgets to accommodate the new arrivals.
The mayor’s dire warning came during an appearance on PIX 11’s "PIX on Politics" days after he predicted that the crisis "will destroy New York City."
Adams said it was his job as mayor, to be honest and transparent with New Yorkers about the reality of the crisis they are facing.
"We are about to experience a financial … tsunami that I don’t think the city has ever experienced," Adams said. "Every service in this city is going to be impacted from child service to our seniors to housing. Everything will be impacted.
He warned that women and children may soon have to share spaces with single men, and public safety could be threatened, alluding to a brawl that broke out at a migrant shelter in Brooklyn Thursday morning.
Responding to criticism that his words were deemed "reckless," Mayor Adams said the reality on the ground "was not an academic exercise."
"This is not a utopia. New York City cannot manage 10,000 people a month with no end in sight," he said. "That can’t happen, and that is going to undermine this entire city."
The mayor further warned that every city department will likely see budget cuts to address the anticipated $12 billion price tag of the migrant crisis.
Several major U.S. cities have struggled with an influx of many thousands of asylum seekers who have filled up homeless shelters after entering the U.S. New York City's shelter system has been especially overwhelmed.
Illegal border crossings fell sharply after the Biden administration introduced new restrictions in May. But the numbers are again rising — pushed higher this time by families with children. According to preliminary data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, August was the busiest month ever for apprehensions for migrant families crossing the border with children from Mexico.
Families with children now account for about half of arrests of people crossing the border illegally from Mexico, with more than 91,000 arrests in August, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
New York City has welcomed 112,000 since spring 2022, nearly 60,000 temporarily living in government shelters.
