New federal border policy could stop migrant bus trips to New York City
EL PASO, Texas -- The new federal policy announced by the Biden administration that says Venezuelan migrants would be kicked out of the country if they illegally cross the border could end El Paso's migrant busing program.
Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino told the New York Post over the weekend that the new federal policy could bring relief to El Paso, and ultimately end the busing program.
“We realize that we won’t need the charters, so at the point, we will start handling it differently,” D'Agostino told the Post.
El Paso has sent 102 chartered buses to New York City, totaling more than 10,000 migrants, according to the city's data dashboard.
A majority of the migrants arriving to El Paso everyday are from Venezuela and are unsponsored. This means they do not have any money to pay for their travel and do not have a family member already in the country to stay with.
City staff says they ask unsponsored migrants that come to the Welcome Center where they would like to go, and a majority of them say New York. The city has also sent a large number of buses to Chicago.
El Paso continued to charter buses to the northeast even after New York City's Mayor, Eric Adams, declared an emergency declaration and asked city leaders in the Borderland to stop sending buses.
“El Paso, the city manager, the mayor, they should stop sending buses to New York," Mayor Adams said during a news conference on October 7.
New York City is a sanctuary city and provides emergency shelter, food, and medical care to migrants. Mayor Adams predicts the migrant surge will cost New York City taxpayers $1 billion by next year.
City leaders in New York are building a "tent city" on Randall's Island, an island between North Manhattan and Queens. The tents will be able to temporarily house 500 migrants, city officials said.
