Migrant-filled buses from Texas arrive in NJ, skirting NYC’s new rules
NEW YORK — After New York City moved last week to slow the pace of migrant-filled charter buses from Southern states, roughly a dozen buses have arrived outside the city in New Jersey since Saturday, according to officials.
The wave of buses west of New York City, which continued Monday morning, appears to represent a response by Republican-led Texas to an executive order implemented by Mayor Eric Adams barring migrant buses from the city except during 210-minute windows on weekday mornings.
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Over the weekend, about 10 migrant buses that originated in Texas and one bus that came from Louisiana arrived in New Jersey municipalities including Edison, Fanwood, Secaucus and Trenton, according to the government of Jersey City.
About 400 people arrived on those buses, said Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.
“It’s the first time that buses have arrived in New Jersey. The buses are looking to circumvent that rule,” Fulop, a Democrat, said by phone, referring to New York City’s executive order.
The Secaucus Junction Train Station, which is located less than four miles from Midtown Manhattan, has served as a primary drop-off point for the migrant buses. Four buses arrived at the station on Saturday, according to the Town of Secaucus. Two more arrived early Monday, said Town Administrator Gary Jeffas.
Migrants who arrived at the station then traveled to New York City by train, according to Secaucus officials. Mayor Michael Gonnelli said in a statement that it “seems quite clear the bus operators are finding a way to thwart the requirements of the Executive Order by dropping migrants at the train station in Secaucus and having them continue to their final destination.”
The bus arrivals seemed to generally be centered on New Jersey Transit stations. A spokesman for Gov. Phil Murphy, Tyler Jones, said in a statement Monday that “New Jersey is primarily being used as a transit point for these families — all or nearly all of them continued with their travels en route to their final destination of New York City.”
Jones added that New Jersey is coordinating with New York on the arrivals.
At least one town said it would not cooperate with transfers. The Edison Township mayor, Sam Joshi, said in a Sunday statement that “if any bus, train or plane of illegal migrants come to Edison, I have instructed our law enforcement and emergency management departments to charter a bus to transport the illegal migrants right back to the southern Texas/Mexican border.”
Texas, strained by a surge in migrant border crossings in recent years, claims to have sent more than 33,000 migrants to New York City since mid-2022. The effort has made Texas one of the drivers of the city’s migrant crisis.
Overall, more than 160,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since spring 2022, according to Adams’ office. Many of the migrants, fleeing poverty and political upheaval in South America, have voluntarily headed to New York, apparently aware that the city has a unique rule promising shelter for anyone who asks for it.
Still, Texas appears to be intensifying its busing effort: the state’s tally of migrants shipped to New York jumped by about 8,000 last month.
Adams, a Democrat, has repeatedly laced into Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, accusing Texas of mistreating the migrants and failing to communicate on its busing efforts with New York. The mayor has described Abbott as an “anti-American governor” and a “global embarrassment.”
Adams’ spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said in a statement Monday that the new executive order is intended to ensure the “safety and well-being of both migrants and city staff receiving them.”
