- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has resumed the practice of busing migrants to sanctuary cities as he believes that the impending increase in migrants due to the termination of Title 42 is a problem for the entire country.
- The termination of Title 42 is expected to lead to a substantial increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross the US border, causing concern for cities like New York and Chicago, which are already struggling to accommodate a large number of asylum seekers.
- New York City has reported that over 53,000 migrants have entered the city's shelter system in the last year.
As the COVID-era public health policy gets lifted, the governor of Texas has announced that he will resume busing migrants to sanctuary cities.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has resumed the practice of busing migrants to sanctuary cities, including New York and Chicago, as he believes that the impending increase in migrants due to the termination of Title 42 is a problem for the entire country, ABC 7 reported.
He wrote a letter to the mayor of Chicago on Monday, emphasizing that the migrant crisis is not solely a Texas issue.
This development is problematic for New York City, which has been struggling with the influx of migrants for a year. City officials report that over 53,000 migrants have entered the city's shelter system in the last year, with many arriving at the Port Authority.
Currently, around 200 asylum seekers are arriving in the city each day, but that number is expected to grow once Title 42 gets lifted on May 11.
New York, Chicago Struggle To House Migrants
According to CBS News, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has tasked each commissioner to dig through their facility portfolios for any space for temporary locations to accommodate asylum seekers since he is in critical need of venues to serve as shelters.
The city has already opened 126 shelters. With even more asylum seekers expected with the termination of Title 42, New York City Mayor Adams is finding that there's simply no more room at the inn.
According to sources, the arrival of 61,000 asylum seekers in the city has prompted this decision. It is estimated that the number of arrivals could reach 100,000 by the end of the next fiscal year, with over 70,000 requiring shelter.
In response to the surge of migrants in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an emergency declaration on Tuesday. Many people, mostly families, have been arriving in Chicago, and 48 were bused to the city on Tuesday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
With an even larger flood of new arrivals expected once Title 42 is lifted, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on Gov. JB Pritzker to mobilize the National Guard to provide staffing and logistical support to address this emergency in Chicago.
The New Life Center in Little Village is already packed with more migrants arriving in Chicago every day.
What's Title 42?
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented a public health order, referred to as Title 42, aimed at halting the spread of the virus.
Title 42 permitted authorities to quickly expel migrants at US land borders and has resulted in over 2.8 million expulsions of migrants at the US-Mexico border since its inception, per CNN. Migrants have either been returned to their home countries or sent back to Mexico.
The Biden administration has announced that the policy will end on Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET, coinciding with the culmination of the national COVID-19 public health emergency, which had served as the legal basis for Title 42.
Officials expect that this move will lead to a substantial increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross the US border.
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