New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency in response to a “crisis situation” brought on by an influx of migrants. Since April, more than 17,000 individuals have entered the city from Republican states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida over the southern border. Mr. Adams said at a press conference that since September, an average of five to six buses had been arriving in the city each day. He claims that one in five people using the city’s shelter system is currently looking for refuge. Additionally, many of those entering are families with children attending school who urgently require medical care.

The mayor is calling for federal and state assistance to help cover the expenses of the inflow, which are expected to cost New York $1 billion this fiscal year. “The city is going to run out of funding for other priorities. “New York City is doing all we can, but we are reaching the outer limit of our ability to help,” Adams said. As part of his emergency declaration, Mr. Adams issued an executive order allowing the city to allocate funds and expedite any response operations for the asylum seekers. However, a spokeswoman for Texas Governor Greg Abbott, dismissed the mayor’s Friday announcement. “The true emergency is on our nation’s southern border where small Texas border towns are overrun and overwhelmed by hundreds of migrants every single day as the Biden administration dumps them in their communities,” said Renae Eze.