In a significant development on Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that his administration has escalated their battle against the transportation of undocumented immigrants to the New York State Supreme Court.
The city has lodged a lawsuit worth $700 million against 17 charter bus companies, accusing them of aiding the influx of illegal immigrants from the southern border into New York City.
The mayor alleged that these companies have breached state law by neglecting to shoulder the financial burden of caring for the approximately 34,000 undocumented immigrants transported into the city over the past 20 months. The cost incurred by the city in this regard is close to three-quarters of a billion dollars.
"New York City has, and will continue to do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis," Mayor Adams stated. He added, "but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone."
The mayor further explained, "Today, our administration filed a lawsuit against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas governor Greg Abbott's scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system."
Mayor Adams accused these companies of violating state law by shirking the financial responsibility of caring for these immigrants. He said, "These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that's why we're suing to recoup approximately $700 million already spent to care for migrants bussed here in the last two years by the state of Texas."
Mayor Adams criticized Governor Abbott's use of immigrants as political tools, describing it as chaotic, inhumane, and indicative of prioritizing politics over people. He warned, "Today's lawsuit should serve as a warning to all those who break the law in this way."
According to New York's Social Services Law, any person who knowingly brings a needy person from out of state into New York for the purpose of making them a public charge is obligated to either transport such person out of state or support them at their own expense.
City officials clarified in a press release that the statute "expressly authorizes the commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) to sue to recover those costs ... for all of the more than 33,600 migrants already transported from Texas to New York City, as well as all costs for migrants who continue to be sent to New York City in the future."
The companies implicated in the lawsuit include Buckeye Coach LLC, Carduan Tours LLC, Classic Elegance Coaches LLC, Coastal Crew Change Company LLC, Ejecutivo Enterprises Inc, El Paso United Charters LLC, Garcia and Garcia Enterprises Inc, JY Charter Bus Inc, Southwest Crew Change Company LLC, Transportes Regiomontanos Inc, VLP Charter LLC, Windstar Lines Inc, and Wynne Transportation LLC.
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