The state Supreme Court just nixed one of Mayor Adams’ (few) attempts to stem the migrant influx. It’s another reminder that the only real fix can come from a change in White House policy — or its occupant.
In January, Team Adams sued 17 bus companies for hauling migrants from Texas to New York, claiming they owed the city $708 million under Section 149 of the New York Social Services Law.
That law imposes a $100 fine for knowingly bringing “a needy person into the state with the intent of making them a public charge” and requires perpetrators to remove the person and support them at their own expense.
On Tuesday, a judge sided with the New York Civil Liberties Union, which argued that Section 149 violated migrants’ constitutional right to interstate travel.
(That illegal migrants have a right to travel within the country when they don’t even have a right to be here in the first place is a bit of a head-scratcher.)
City Hall has accepted the decision, while claiming that the stall during the lawsuit provided some relief to the constant flow of migrants into the city.
Alas, the short-lived relief won’t be nearly enough to restore normalcy in the city and fix a crisis set to cost New Yorkers billions.
Adams has begged Team Biden for help, sought a suspension of New York’s “right-to-shelter” rule and set a 30- to 60-day time limit for migrants in shelters.
None of those moves went far enough, yet all nonetheless brought on hysterical opposition from left-wing lawmakers and activists, who seem to think the city has unlimited space and resources for the world’s poor.
Adams has also contributed to the problem himself by making New York even more of a desirable destination for migrants: Not only are they guaranteed food, shelter, cell phones, medical care and education; they also get free debit cards.
The city’s policies have created a new class of people who are entirely dependent on taxpayers for survival — and have turned peaceful neighborhoods into crime-ridden hellholes.
Just last week, two people were killed and one injured in a possibly Tren de Aragua gang-related shooting outside a migrant shelter in Clinton Hill.
These shelters are plagued by domestic violence and serve as crime-magnets — robberies and assaults spike in the neighborhoods they reside.
The migrant influx has also brought in gang violence and shoplifting rings.
All that said, it’s still key to remember that Adams didn’t cause the problem, the Biden-Harris folks did, and he can only do so much to fix it.
Meanwhile, the rush of border jumpers continues, despite Team Biden-Harris claims that recent emergency actions (suddenly implemented after 3 1/2 years, just months before the elections) have fixed the problem.
Truth is, New York and other cities can’t hope for real relief until there’s real security and enforcement at the border. And President Biden and border czar Kamala Harris have made clear they won’t provide that.
Meaning, New York’s problems can only be fixed by new leadership at the White House.
