New York City Mayor Eric Adams canceled a supposedly scheduled visit to the US-Mexico border on Sunday (Mar. 24), citing security concerns.
According to the Associated Press, Adams was slated to visit Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, and was expected to meet with US immigration leaders as his city struggles to house new migrants seeking asylum.
The mayor's spokesperson, Amaris Cockfield, said that Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande, invited him to visit. However, she noted that the US State Department flagged safety concerns at one of his planned stops in Mexico, prompting his office to postpone the trip.
"As Lent draws to a close, our team was excited to stand with faith and humanitarian leaders who have dedicated their lives to serving the most needy among us and we were eager to discuss our work in New York City and explore new ways to collaborate with leaders in cities across the country," Cockfield said in an emailed statement. "We hope to continue our partnership with these nationally-recognized Latino leaders and organizations as we look for concrete solutions to resolve the crisis at the border."
It was also previously reported that over 100 migrants overpowered border guards at a crossing in El Paso, Texas.
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Big Apple's Migration Problem
Adams earlier visited El Paso in January, offering a blistering criticism of the federal government's response to the increase of immigrants into US cities far from the border.
He also took a four-day tour through Latin America in October, where he implored people to stop making the dangerous journey to the US.
Since the spring of 2022, more than 180,000 migrants have come to New York, with over 64,000 of them being taken care of by the city's shelter sites.
Last week, city officials and human rights advocates reached an agreement on Adams's bid to suspend the city's "right to shelter" policy following curbs on migrant shelters after a shooting incident in Times Square last month.
The agreement essentially ended the city's blanket requirement to provide shelter for adult immigrants without any time limits. This meant that the compromise would allow officials to decide whether to allow a migrant to stay in a shelter beyond 30 days on a case-by-case basis.
Additional time would be granted if a person showed "significant efforts to resettle," which could include making an appointment with an immigration lawyer, applying for a resettlement program, or proof that they're searching for housing.
