New York City mayor Eric Adams wrapped up a four-day visit to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia this weekend. While abroad, Adams praised his hometown’s “Empire State of Mind” and promoted the Big Apple as a wonderful place to start a business. To hear the city’s mayor talk, New York City is the best place in the world.
But please don’t come, said Adams, in an attempt to turn on the city’s “No Vacancy” sign. As his administration grapples with how to care for the 60,000 migrants now in the city’s care, Adams has taken it upon himself to spread a very mixed message: New York City is wonderful, but stay home.
Good luck. After learning the purpose of Mayor Adam’s trip, one migrant in Ecuador was confused. “How can you tell someone not to follow their American dream?” asked Carlos Gabriel Hernández. Protesters in Colombia waved signs that said “The real face of New York’’ and called the mayor a “migrant hating creep.”
Adams’ jumbled message reflects a larger confusion in the Democratic party on immigration. Just last week, the Biden administration sought to waive environmental regulations for construction of 20 more miles of border wall. This comes from a president who canceled Trump’s border wall on his first day in office. A further sign of uncertainty: When asked if a border wall would work, Biden said simply, “No.”
POLITICIANS are allowed to disagree about immigration, and that includes Democrats. Many mayors and governors cannot fathom the stress cities like Chicago and New York face as they seek to accommodate migrants. Services are maxed out, and winter is right around the corner.
Leaders are also permitted to change their minds as conditions change. The United States is experiencing a record number of immigrants — the Border Patrol arrested about 200,000 immigrants in September, the highest number this year. The House was rudderless even before former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted, removing any hope of legislative action. And economic conditions in many Latin American countries are worse, not better, than during the pandemic.
Still, it’s worth remembering how Democrats like Eric Adams got here. It all started when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who, tired of his pleas for federal help falling on deaf ears, made a bet to his blue-state counterparts: See what we’re dealing with and you’ll change your tune. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis jumped in, and the two started sponsoring trips north.
Now look at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who wants to end New York City’s “right to shelter” rule, which requires the city provide a bed to anyone who needs one. Notice how New York City has started offering migrants free bus tickets to Canada. Or witness irate Democratic mayors in the suburbs who reject migrants and refuse to lift a finger to help.
INSTEAD of proving Democratic leaders can tackle the migrant crisis with more compassion, they are reading from Abbott’s script. He and DeSantis don’t need to speak a word about immigration anymore; Adams and his allies do it for them.
And as President Biden throws up his hands and claims he can’t stop new construction of a border wall he knows is useless, he risks alienating the same voters who put him in office.
As Vanessa Cárdenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant rights organization, said, “This president came into office with a lot of moral clarity about where the lines were.” Biden and his aides “need to sort of decide who they are on this issue.”
VALUES don’t mean anything if they change when the going gets tough. With control of the House in play, Democrats are likely worried about toss-up districts in the suburbs. No one likes a crisis, but President Biden and Democratic leaders like Adams need to remember not just who put them in office, but who their constituents are – and were.
Lest they forget, there’s a magnificent reminder standing tall in the middle of New York Harbor. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” indeed.
— Tim Stauffer
