New York Mayor Eric Adams officially visited Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia on a "fact finding trip" to understand the reasons behind the escalating immigration crisis at the United States' southern border.
Adams visited hot areas such as the Darién Gap and declared that he observed "the reality and the scale" of the situation for the thousands of migrants who travel through the dangerous jungle daily in order to reach the United States. Furthermore, he assured that these people are fleeing "violence, instability and poverty" in their countries:
At the onset of this trip, I said this was a fact finding trip, one that was a reality check for all of us. And today we saw the reality and the scale of migration that happens here through the Darién Gap. Colombia and the Darién Gap serves as a transit point for migrants as they flee violence, instability and poverty.
The mayor assured that after the visit that the situation in the Darién Gap is a "global crisis." In addition, he commented that his team was "walking away with a large amount of notes and information that we're going to put into proposals and policies" that they will use in the fight to control the migration crisis:
Coming down to the Darién Gap and going through this experience is because we want to get a better understanding of it and we want to properly implement ways to make sure that we can stop this dangerous trek that women, children and adults are taking.
The Darién Gap is 'an unkept environment'; New York without space
The mayor flew over the Darién Gap by helicopter while he was in Colombia and reached the edge of the country's border with Panama. Adams stated that he was able to observe hundreds of migrants in tents and assured that it was "an unkept environment" and that it was "really not a condition that children should be in."
On his trip to Mexico, Adams spoke with Adriana Vargas-Sino, a journalist from Univision 41. In the interview, the mayor stated that no one should remain idle regarding the situation. He commented that the Darién Gap is a place "where children are hurt, where women are raped, and others are exploited." Therefore, he asked "to have a uniform response not only at the national level but also here in the region."
Adams has been asking the Biden administration for help for months to be able to assume the burden of the more than 120,000 immigrants who have arrived in the city in the last year. He has gone so far as to describe the situation "will destroy New York City." During his trip to Latin America, he declared that New York is "literally out of space and capacity."
