The Immigrant Buses Using New Jersey Loophole to Evade NYC Mayor’s New Order
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently issued an order requiring charter bus companies transporting immigrants to the city to provide manifests of passengers and scheduled delivery times and locations at least 32 hours prior to their arrival. The order was aimed at curbing the mass shipment of immigrants to the city, in response to a months-long effort by Texas and other Republican-led states to send migrants and asylum seekers to major cities with Democratic mayors without much prior notice.
However, it seems that some bus operators have discovered a loophole in the system by using transit points in New Jersey to ensure that immigrants reach their final destination, New York City. Over the weekend, at least four buses were reported to stop at the Secaucus Junction train station, with immigrants then taking trains to New York City.
Jersey City’s emergency management office also reported that around 10 buses from various locations in Texas and one from Louisiana arrived at several transit stations across New Jersey, including Secaucus, Fanwood, Edison, and Trenton, with nearly 400 immigrants.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott claimed that his state has bused more than 33,600 immigrants to New York City since August 2022. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also reported that hundreds of asylum seekers arrived at Rockford International Airport in Illinois, with over 28,000 asylum seekers sent to the Chicago area by Texas.
This situation has sparked a response from lawmakers, with Senator Lindsey Graham stating that Republicans will not pass aid to Ukraine and Israel unless there is an agreement on border security. He called the border crisis a “national security nightmare for the United States.”
Meanwhile, Mexican officials are set to visit Washington in January to continue discussions with the Biden administration on how to stem the influx of migration to the United States. This comes after a high-level delegation to Mexico City made progress in increasing law enforcement on the Mexican side of the border.
The United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number of migrants crossing the southern border, with border authorities encountering over 225,000 migrants along the US-Mexico border in December, marking the highest monthly total recorded since 2000.
Overall, these ongoing immigration issues are sparking a heated debate about border security and the appropriate measures to take to address this complex and pressing issue.