Staff Reports
President Joe Biden’s busy week of hobnobbing with world leaders didn’t include a meet-up with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. And it’s no wonder why—Adams has become a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the immigration crisis.
Adams, a Democrat himself, has been sounding the alarm as over 110,000 immigrants have flooded into his city over the past 18 months. He’s fed up with the financial burden New York is shouldering, with billions of dollars being spent on sheltering and supporting these newcomers. And he’s not afraid to say it.
But let’s be clear: Adams isn’t exactly a border hawk. He’s actually calling for faster work permits for immigrants so they can find jobs. Now that’s a novel idea—let’s just make sure they have jobs before they even have legal status to be in the country. Real smart thinking, Mayor.
Meanwhile, the White House is dragging its feet on speeding up work permits, reportedly out of fear of lawsuits and the potential for even more immigrants flocking to the border. Hey, Biden administration, here’s an idea: maybe you should actually secure the border and address the root causes of illegal immigration instead of just slapping band-aids on the problem.
Adams didn’t directly criticize Biden for not meeting with him, but he certainly made his disappointment known in multiple TV interviews. The mayor stressed the urgency of the situation, with 10,000 more immigrants arriving in the city every month. He’s even calling on Biden to declare an emergency over the migrant crisis.
You conveniently side-stepped the illegal immigration crisis in NYC.https://t.co/lA1I0Qbi8S
— News2A (@News2ATeam) September 21, 2023
But shockingly, Biden hasn’t responded. The lack of direct contact between the president and Adams is a far cry from just a year ago when they were attending fundraisers together and Adams was proudly calling himself the “Biden of Brooklyn.” Now, he’s being compared to a different president entirely—some progressives are calling him the black Trump. Ouch.
While Biden did manage to find time to meet with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has been more measured in her remarks, his relationship with Adams seems to be on thin ice. And with border crossings once again on the rise, it’s unlikely they’ll be back on speaking terms anytime soon.
It’s clear that the immigration crisis is far from over, with the mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, declaring an emergency just this week due to a surge of crossings from Mexico. But hey, let’s keep focusing on work permits for immigrants already in the country instead of actually securing the border and addressing the root causes. That’s surely the winning strategy, right?
