New York City, a sanctuary city, is grappling with the consequences of President Biden's open border policies, which have led to an influx of over 10,000 illegal immigrants each month.
The city's sanctuary policies prohibit the handover of these immigrants to Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, spoke to Fox 5 about the challenges his administration is facing due to this crisis. "We cannot by law tell someone if they come into the city, you cannot come into the city," Adams stated. "I don't have the authority to tell people that they can't come into New York City." He further emphasized, "We can't even turn them over to ICE. It's against the law. The law states that we cannot notify ICE. I cannot break the law and enforce the law."
According to the Daily Mail, the New York For All Act prevents both state and local law enforcement officers from detaining illegal immigrants and handing them over to ICE. This legislation is causing significant strain on the city's resources, as over 161,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York City since 2022. Many of these individuals are transported into the city by governors of border states like Texas.
"We're out of room, literally," Adams lamented. "People are going to be eventually sleeping on the streets." He has criticized the Biden administration for its lack of support to cities bearing the brunt of the illegal immigration crisis. In a press conference last month, Adams declared that help from the Biden White House "is not on the way."
When questioned about the security of the US-Southern border, Adams expressed concern, stating, "I think too many people are coming through various pathways and cavities in our border, and we have to be extremely careful." He added, "Because not everyone who is coming is pursuing the American Dream."
Adams argued that the border crisis is a "national problem" and that it's unfair for local municipalities and cities to handle it. He revealed that New York City has had to reduce the benefits provided to migrants to the bare necessities, including food, shelter, and clothing.
"We have never witnessed this level of migration in this hemisphere," said Adams. "We are being inundated, and we have now moved to another phase of saying all of those services that you're talking about we're down to food, shelter, clothing. That's it."
Recent data released by Border Patrol revealed historic numbers of illegal crossings under the Biden administration. The US-Southern border has seen more than 2 million illegal crossings within the past year, with more than 6 million encounters since Joe Biden became president in 2021. In December alone, there were more than 300,000 encounters at the southern border, the highest number ever recorded in a single month.
The number of people on the terrorist watch list apprehended at the border nearly doubled last year's record total. According to the CBP data, 172 non-citizens who were on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended at the border, a significant increase from 2022's record year of 98. Before 2021, the highest number was six in 2018, and it has skyrocketed since the Biden administration took over.
Total encounters for enforcement officials were 434,562 higher than in 2022 at a total of 3,201,144 for FY 2023. Since 2020, the total encounters have continued to increase, with 646,822 total encounters in 2020, 1,956,519 a year later, and 2,766,582 two years later.
Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, recently warned about a massive caravan of illegal immigrants headed to the United States. He has vowed to make border security a top priority if he were to take back the White House in 2025.
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