New York sues Texas companies that moved immigrants to the Big Apple: $700 million sought

To combat the immigration crisis, some states, such as Florida or Texas, transported illegal immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities,” including New York City. Consequently, the Big Apple is suing the Texas companies that helped carry out the aforementioned transports and is seeking $700 million.

On Thursday, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, challenged Governor Greg Abbott by suing the bus and charter companies that mobilized the migrants. He made this known through a statement in which he accused the Republican of putting politics over citizens.

“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone,” the Mayor said in a statement released Thursday.

Since taking office, the Democrat has had to deal with the arrival of approximately 160,000 immigrants, encouraged by a decades-old decree, which requires that refuge be provided to anyone who requests it. The total cost of holding them is estimated at $12 billion over three years.

At the same time, Adams confronted the federal government for more resources to combat the immigration crisis, which he said could “destroy” New York City.

“Today, we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas Governor Abbott’s scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system. Governor Abbott’s continued use of migrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane but makes clear he puts politics over people. Today’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to all those who break the law in this way,” added the Democrat, elected in 2021 on a tough-on-crime and insecurity platform.

The state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, backed the lawsuit and said, “It’s about time that the companies facilitating his actions take responsibility for their role in this ongoing crisis.”

Greg Abbott’s response: “This lawsuit is baseless”

The Republican responded quickly through a statement released by his office just a few hours later. In the letter, he accused the Democratic Mayor of not knowing the existing laws and did not rule out that he could be legally charged for his actions.

“This lawsuit is baseless and deserves to be sanctioned. It’s clear that Mayor Adams knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution or about the constitutional right to travel that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court. Every migrant bused or flown to New York City did so voluntarily after having been authorized by the Biden Administration to remain in the United States. As such, they have constitutional authority to travel across the country that Mayor Adams is interfering with. If the Mayor persists in this lawsuit, he may be held legally accountable for his violations,” he said.