New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized President Joe Biden for not meeting with him during his three-day trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“I'm very public. Everybody knows where I am,” Mr. Adams said during an unrelated press conference on Sept. 19. “We release if we're going to be with the president or not.”
“President Biden's coming to the city,” the mayor added. “I am hoping that he understands this beautiful city that's the economic engine of the entire country is been saddled with $2 billion that we spent already, $5 billion we're going to spend in this fiscal crisis, $12 billion in the next two budgetary cycles. New York doesn't deserve this, the asylum seekers don't deserve this.”
He added, “And so while he's here, I think that they should really reflect on, New York City has done its part.”
“I spoke to the president earlier this year and shared our concerns of both the governor also communicated with him, and that was the last time we spoke with the president. I have communicated with the White House staffers to talk about the urgency of the moment,” Mr. Adams added.
He added, “We need an emergency declaration, we need to be properly funded, we need a decompression strategy not only in the city but throughout the state. This is just wrong,”
In an appearance on Fox 5’s Good Day New York on Wednesday, Mr. Adams was asked what he thought about President Biden choosing not to meet him in New York.
In response, the mayor said, “Well, we are in constant communication with the White House.”
“The goal is to get the items that we have identified, and that includes a decompression strategy at the border, receiving the funding that we deserve, calling a state of emergency, allowing people to work,” he added.
The mayor went on to comment on the illegal immigration crisis in New York City, saying that over 110,000 illegal immigrants have come to his city since last spring. He added that about 10,000 illegal immigrants were arriving at the city every month.
“We've witnessed that a substantial number have left our shelter system, but over 60,000–70,000 are still there. It's just not moving at the right pace. But the question becomes, why aren't we stopping this at the source, and why aren't we dealing with this as a national crisis that it is,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Homeland Security Department announced that it will grant temporary deportation relief and access to work permits to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelan illegal immigrants arriving in the country on or before July 31 of this year. These immigrants will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.
The announcement immediately drew applause from Mr. Adams and Ms. Hochul.
“There’s more work to do as we address this crisis, but the State of New York is prepared to immediately begin the process of signing people up for work authorization and getting them into jobs so they can become self-sufficient,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement.
“I personally spoke to the White House tonight to hear about this development and express my gratitude and support for this important decision that … we have been advocating for since April,” Mr. Adams said in a statement. “I am hopeful that we can continue to partner with President Biden to extend Temporary Protected Status to the tens of thousands of other migrants in our care from other countries.”
