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New York Mayor Eric Adams has failed to stop migrants from making the treacherous journey to the Big Apple from South America, even as many have more power than ever.
Adams this weekend visited the Darien Gap, a treacherous rainforest crossed by thousands of mostly South American migrants every month, to try to dissuade them from coming as American cities, like his own struggle to house them.
His unusual trip to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia underlines the criticism he and other leaders of Democratic cities and states have leveled at President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
But for those who made the trip, Adams’ pleas to discourage them, while somewhat poor, fell on deaf ears as some begged the question, “How can you tell someone not to follow their American dream?”
New York Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) has failed to stop migrants from making the treacherous journey to the Big Apple from South America, and many are more vocal than ever
Sitting on the doorstep of a restaurant with his wife and children, Carlos Gabriel Hernández told the New York Times that he had already tried to cross Darien Gap but had failed.
The remote, roadless border crossing on the Colombia-Panama border consists of more than 100 kilometers of dense rainforest, steep mountains and vast swamps and has killed hundreds of people.
Despite the obstacle, Hernández said he was still determined to try to reach New York again and was surprised and even insulted when he learned why Adams had visited.
Johanna del Valle Acosta told the outlet that while she understood Adams’ perspective, she wished there was more compassion.
“I think as mayor he is defending his country,” she said.
‘Suddenly other countries see us as a threat, but we are good people who want to work.’
Meanwhile, Jhonatan Antony Velásquez Diaz told the New York Times friends who have come to New York “tell me to come, that many of them have jobs.”
“That lifts me up and helps me keep going,” he said.
He said he doubted Adams’ words would carry much weight, adding that “people will come anyway.”
A protest during New York Mayor Eric Adams’ visit to Necocli, northern Colombia, after concluding a four-day trip to Latin America to deter migrants
The remote, roadless border crossing on the Colombia-Panama border consists of more than 100 kilometers of dense rainforest, steep mountains and vast swamps and has claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
‘I am not discouraged by what a politician or mayor says.’
At a news conference during a stop in Puebla in central Mexico, Adams said, “Our hearts are endless, but our resources are not.”
Adding, “They deserve a more dignified environment than we can provide.”
The journey, during which he traveled thousands of kilometers to plead his case, are highlights how the latest wave of migrants is reshaping the immigration debate among some Democratic leaders.
Republican governors at the border have strongly criticized Biden’s border policies.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bused thousands of migrants north to New York, Chicago and other Democratic-controlled cities.
But in recent months, Adams and some other Democrats have said their cities far from the southern border are also now under pressure from a wave of new arrivals, many of whom are fleeing violence and economic troubles in Venezuela.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called the influx “unsustainable” in a letter to Biden on Monday, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, said this week that he planned to close the US border and to visit Mexico after more than 17,000 migrants had arrived in the city since last year.
Adams and some other Democrats have said their cities far from the southern border are also now under pressure from a wave of newcomers who have risked their lives to be there.
The Biden administration said Thursday it will add sections to a wall to reduce the record number of migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border
Immigration is likely to be a campaign issue in the 2024 US presidential election, with a majority of 54 percent of Americans agreeing with the statement that “immigration makes life harder for native Americans,” a Reuters/Ipsos poll found in September.
About 73 percent of Republicans and 37 percent of Democrats surveyed agreed with this statement.
The Biden administration said Thursday it will add sections to a wall to reduce the record number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, continuing a signature policy of former President Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor and the Republican frontrunner race to challenge him. in 2024.
Adams has said that many asylum seekers left for New York believing they would get jobs and rooms in “five-star hotels” upon arrival, led astray by misinformation spread by smugglers and on social media. “We say that’s not true.”
The New York Immigration Coalition and other advocacy groups have criticized Adams’ trip as an ineffective use of time and money as Adams cuts city budgets. They say New York’s mayor has no influence on international policy and that the city has mismanaged the existing shelter system.
They say his comments last month that the migrant crisis will “destroy New York City” are inflammatory.
The New York Immigration Coalition and other advocacy groups have criticized Adams’ trip as an ineffective use of time and money.
The city says hundreds of migrants arrive every day with nowhere to stay
This week, Adams’ office asked a judge to end a decades-old right-to-shelter mandate that requires New York to provide a place to sleep for anyone who needs one.
The city says hundreds of migrants arrive every day with nowhere to stay.
The effort is being opposed by the Legal Aid Society, which advocates for newly arrived migrants seeking shelter.
Joshua Goldfein, a Legal Aid attorney, said it was unclear whether physical travel to the Darien Gap could help with the crisis in New York City, and that the mayor could do more without leaving his hometown.
Much of the misinformation the mayor described was seen by asylum seekers on mobile phones, in TikTok videos shared on WhatsApp.
To combat this, the city should create its own videos in the languages of migrants traveling north, Goldfein said.
“All three levels of government need to take action here to solve this problem,” Goldfein said: The federal government should give people work permits and help local officials in states and cities meet newcomers and help them resettle in cheaper and tense cities.
“But they’re all pointing fingers at each other.”