NYC Mayor Eric Adams calls for federal, state help after Title 42 ends

Adams warned the shelter system is "nearly out of money, staff and space."

December 18, 2022, 5:42 PM

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is warning that the city is expected to receive over 1,000 asylum-seekers each week, with Title 42 set to be lifted on Wednesday.

Although he does not say what authority has warned of the incoming surge of migrants, he said that NYC would see more people entering the shelter system as early as Sunday.

"The flow of asylum-seekers to New York City has slowed in recent months, but the tool that the federal government has used to manage those coming over the border is set to expire this week, and we have been told in no uncertain terms that, beginning today, we should expect an influx of buses coming from the border and that more than 1,000 additional asylum-seekers will arrive in New York City every week," Adams said in a statement.

Title 42 is a clause of the 1944 Public Health Services Law that "allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies," Olga Byrne, the immigration director at the International Rescue Committee, told ABC News last week.

Adams has called on the state and federal government for funding to help house asylum-seekers, saying that NYC has managed the flow and influx of seekers "entirely on its own."

PHOTO: FILE - Buses of migrants who have been detained at the Texas border continue to arrive in New York, Sept. 25, 2022 at the Port Authority bus terminal.
Buses of migrants who have been detained at the Texas border continue to arrive in New York, Sept. 25, 2022 at the Port Authority bus terminal.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during U.S. Africa leaders Summit at Department of State in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during U.S. Africa leaders Summit at Department of State in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022.
Jose Luis Magana/AP

Since April, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused over 14,000 migrants from the Texas-Mexico border to Democrat-led cities across the country, including NYC, citing a need to secure the border after claiming the Biden administration isn't doing so.

In September, Adams called for "coordination" with the federal government and Republican governors over the busing and flying of migrants to the city, saying that NYC's system was "nearing its breaking point."

"We are in urgent need for help, and it's time for our state and federal partners to act -- especially those in Congress who refuse to provide the financial resources or issue temporary work authorizations necessary for these individuals to live properly," Adams said in a press release Sunday.

The mayor also warned that the shelter system is currently full and are "nearly out of money, staff, and space."

"Truth be told, if corrective measures are not taken soon, we may very well be forced to cut or curtail programs New Yorkers rely on and the pathway to house thousands more is uncertain," Adams said.

ABC News' Tal Axelrod, Quinn Owen and Deena Zaru contributed to this report.

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