Roadrunner Charters, a bus company paid by the Texas government to transport illegal immigrants from the southern border to New York City, has agreed to stop doing so while the city’s lawsuit against them proceeds.
Roadrunner Charters was one of the 17 bus companies sued by New York Mayor Eric Adams’ administration in January over their collective hauling of about 33,600 individuals from Texas to the self-proclaimed “sanctuary city.”
Mr. Adams’ administration is arguing that the bus companies should be held liable for the $708 million the city has had to spend to care for their passengers.
Since the spring of 2022, the Lone Star State has reportedly spent $148 million to implement the Republican governor’s initiative, which is meant to give Democrat-run big cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver a taste of what the border communities are dealing with.
“These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that’s why we are suing to recoup approximately $700 million already spent to care for migrants sent here in the last two years by Texas,” Mr. Adams said at that time.
“Defendant Roadrunner Charters Inc. will refrain forthwith from transporting individuals known as migrants from Texas to New York City, and/or from Texas to the vicinity of New York City, including but not limited to New Jersey,” the two-page stipulation reads.
The agreement does not affect the other 16 coach companies sued by the city.
Mr. Adams, whose administration is struggling to manage the spiraling expense generated by the influx of illegal immigrants, has welcomed the deal.
“I am pleased to see that Roadrunner ... has agreed to halt the bussing of migrants into and around New York City while the lawsuit proceeds,” the Democrat mayor said in a statement that also accuses the Texas governor of trying to “overwhelm” his city’s shelters and finances.
“We call on all other bus companies involved in this suit to do the same,” he continued. “Reckless political games from the state of Texas will not be tolerated.”
An attorney for Roadrunner could not immediately be reached for comments.
Mr. Abbott’s office didn’t respond to a request for comments, although the governor has condemned the lawsuit as “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,” Mr. Abbott said in January.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Illegal Immigrant Costs
According to Mr. Adams’ suit, the bus companies collected from the Texas government about $1,650 for each person transported—a significantly higher price tag compared to the average $291 one-way ticket to New York from Texas.The city, meanwhile, estimated that it spent about $21,000 on each illegal immigrant in its care for 20 months. That placed the overall cost at $708 million.
The lawsuit came just days after the Adams administration tried to control the flow of migrant charter buses by limiting when and where they could drop migrants off. Specifically, the mayor ordered that the buses can drop off their passengers only between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. on weekdays. In addition, bus companies must notify the city’s emergency management office 32 hours in advance of the buses’ arrival.
The bus companies were quick to find a workaround. Hundreds of people were dropped off in New Jersey towns, including Secaucus, Fanwood, Edison, and Trenton, where they were guided onto Manhattan-bound trains that were not covered by the mayor’s order.
