Adams Sets Migrant Bus Limits In Escalation Of Feud With Texas Gov

NEW YORK CITY — Buses carrying asylum seekers to New York City no longer will be able to come and go willy-nilly, Mayor Eric Adams said in an escalation of his feud with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Adams issued an executive order Wednesday that sets limits on how and when charter bus companies drop off migrants in the city.

He said the new rules are necessary in part because 14 "rogue buses" from Texas arrived in a single night last week after Abbott promised to send tens of thousands of more migrants to the city.

"We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night," he said Wednesday.

"This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly way, it puts those who have already suffered so much in danger. To be clear, this is not stopping people from coming. But about ensuring the safety of migrants and making sure they can arrive in a coordinated and orderly way."

The executive order requires charter bus companies to provide 32-hour notice before they transport migrants into the city. It also sets an 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday through Friday drop off window, which also requires buses to unload passengers at one point.

Failure to comply with the order will result in a Class B misdemeanor, potential fines, lawsuits and buses being impounded, Adams said.

Adams announced the bus limits during a joint news conference with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, both of whom have also been on the receiving end of buses full of migrants.

"Rogue buses arriving not just in the City of Chicago but surrounding communities as well," Johnson said. "Some neighborhoods as far reaching as an hour and a half outside of the City of Chicago. Buses sent by the governor of Texas literally dropping families off in the middle of nowhere."

New York City's new rules follow Chicago's actions to coordinate orderly bus arrivals, Adams said.