New York State Supreme Court Blocks NYC Mayor Adams’s Attempt to Pause Migrant Arrivals

The latest twist in a long-running social and public policy crisis is a defeat for a mayor who has said unchecked migration will destroy New York City

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a news conference at the New York City Emergency Management Department in New York on April 5, 2024. Brittainy Newman/AP Photo

NEW YORK—The New York State Supreme Court has denied New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s request for a preliminary injunction against busing illegal immigrants from Texas to the city.

Adams, who faces challenges from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and others in his reelection bid next year, filed a lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies in January.

His goal was to stop the companies from busing migrants, many of them undocumented, from communities in Texas to New York. The mayor cited Social Services Law 149, which stipulates that any person “who knowingly brings, or causes to be brought, a needy person from out of state into this state for the purpose of making him a public charge” has an obligation “to convey such person out of state or support him at his own expense.”

But in her nine-page July 29 ruling, Judge Mary V. Rosado found that the lawsuit was “unconstitutional.”

The judge found that the matter was similar to a 1941 Supreme Court case, Edwards v. California, in which the Supreme Court found that an “essentially identical” law in California was unconstitutional for violating the Interstate Commerce Clause.

She cited the ruling, saying, “The Court finds that it cannot grant the ... request for injunctive relief as the merits of [the] claim are dubious at best given myriad constitutional concerns.”

The state supreme court’s ruling is a setback for the Adams administration, whose legal moves had succeeded in getting one bus company, Roadrunner Charters Inc., to enter into an agreement to pause busing migrants to the city until the court reached a decision. Now, Roadrunner Charters and other bus services are free to continue transporting migrants to New York.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly responded to the ruling on X,  formerly Twitter, writing, “Another WIN! ... Until the Biden-Harris Administration secures the border, Texas will continue to send migrants to sanctuary cities.”

Adams’s position was that dropping thousands of people in New York strained social services and the amount of available shelter space past the limit, costing more than $700 million. In a similar spirit to the busing lawsuit, the mayor has sought to enforce a 60-day limit on shelter space for asylum seekers in the city.

In the past two years alone, a reported 205,000 migrants have arrived in the city, straining existing social services and prompting the Adams administration to set up more than 200 emergency shelter sites.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which filed an amicus brief in the case, argued that people have a right to come to New York regardless of their immigration status or whether they are self-sufficient and that the injunction Mayor Adams sought was unconstitutional.

“The court has rightly rejected the city’s cruel attempt to limit newly arrived immigrants from traveling to and making a home here in New York City. Everyone, whether or not they are a citizen and no matter their resources, has the right to travel and reside anywhere within the United States—including Texas and New York,” Beth Haroules, a senior staff attorney at the NYCLU, said in a statement.

“New Yorkers deserve better than xenophobia and discrimination masquerading as policy,” she continued, adding that the NYCLU looks forward to the court’s full dismissal of the mayor’s case.

Challenge

The mayor’s stance on migration has put him at odds with not only the NYCLU but also other figures in city government, including Lander.

In recent months, the mayor’s rival in the coming primary election has made efforts to publicize what the comptroller believes are unduly harsh policies toward migrants.

On May 9, Lander released the findings of an investigation into the mayor’s 60-day shelter limit for families seeking asylum. The comptroller’s office criticized the “haphazard” enforcement of the limit.

The investigation found that, as of April 28, the Adams administration had issued 60-day notices to a total of 10,229 families with children. Altogether, it affected 19,497 adults and 18,149 children.

The investigation found that the city did not provide clear and consistent guidelines and written notices to the people affected. In theory, families with newborns and pregnant women in their final trimester before giving birth were exempt from the limit, but the comptroller’s office charged that staff and contractors never received written instructions to this effect.

Moreover, the investigation said that the city “specifically discriminated” against families with elementary-school-age children in making shelter placements. It added that the city subjected 37,000 people to repetitive screenings for alternatives to shelters, the investigation found.

But Adams, whose administration has struggled to find accommodations for the massive influx, has said the city is faced with a serious crisis.

During a town hall-style meeting in Manhattan in September 2023, the mayor described a crisis that surpassed anything he had seen in his career in public service.

“Let me tell you something, New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to—I don’t see an ending to this,” the mayor said.

“This issue will destroy New York City,” he added.

Neither the mayor’s office nor the NYCLU responded by publication time to a request for comment.