As New York tussles to find a proper solution to the unprecedented move by Republican governors to bus migrants to Democrat strongholds, Mayor Eric Adams is seriously considering using cruise ships as temporary housing.
Mr. Adams revealed the plan during a recent interview on CBS2’s latest political talk show, “The Point with Marcia Kramer.”
“We’re examining everything, from the legality of using any type of cruise ship for temporary housing. We’re looking at everything to see; how do we deal with this,” said Mayor Adams.
“I want to pursue this thing about the cruise ships,” replied Kramer. “Is that really a possibility that you might be able to do that?”
“We’re looking at that. That was something that the previous administrations, the Bloomberg administration, my understanding is that they looked at that during the surge. So we’re looking at that as a temporary measure, not as a permanent measure. A permanent measure is to get people into housing,” said Adams.
The interview occurred as another convoy of buses filled with migrant asylum-seekers arrived from Texas. Four buses had arrived by mid-afternoon Friday, and another three were expected by the end of the day.
With over 11,000 migrants sent to the Big Apple in the past few months, Mayor Adams revealed that there’s not enough time to open more shelters and hotels.
“We have opened 23 emergency shelters. We are predicting with the influx of opening probably 38 additional emergency shelters. So we have to find temporary measures to address this issue,” he said.
Mr. Adams also said he’s working alongside the Biden administration to hasten the process of acquiring work permits for the migrants so they can start supporting themselves.
And this isn’t just happening in New York. According to various reports, buses carrying hundreds of migrants have been arriving for weeks in NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, and other Democratic strongholds, mainly in the northeastern US.
The trips originate in Texas and Florida, where various widely popular Republican governors are using the issues as a stunt to pressure the Biden administration on immigration enforcement while also trying to embarrass Democrats ahead of the crucial midterm contests.
The Republican leaders behind this move have faced backlash for not working with local governments or aid groups to ensure that the migrants have a safe place to go or food to eat once they get to their destinations. Residents’ responses in those jurisdictions have been outpouring support for the asylum-seekers themselves.
Texas governor, Gregory Wayne Abbott, said over the weekend that his state alone had bused over 2500 migrants to NYC in the past few weeks alone.
