New York City Mayor Eric Adams says Republican governors sending migrants to northern cities is a "political stunt" and that it's difficult to predict their "erratic behavior."
Adams was asked Tuesday about the influx of migrants sent to the city and whether he believes the Biden Administration is to blame for the current crisis.
The mayor put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling their actions "horrendous."
"I think what we're seeing in the city is a political stunt," Adams said. "I thought what really personified that political stunt is the governor of Florida. He has nothing to do with it. I mean what was his purpose of sending a plane load to Martha's Vineyard? He just felt as though he wanted to get into this horrendous action and so we're seeing it this political stunt of this."
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Adams said the transporting of migrants from Texas border communities was an attempt by Republicans to "overshadow" what they've done with women's rights and the proliferation of guns.
"What is happening here in New York City and my concern is … I believe they created it. This is a humanitarian crisis created by human hands and it was a political stunt," Adams said.
"I believe the other day we had eight buses that came in. It is difficult to predict the erratic behavior of an erratic governor. We have no idea what's next for him and what he's going to do so we have to be ready to make sure we comply with our legal and moral obligation," Adams said.
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Adams said they roughly 13,000 asylum seekers and migrants in the city.
"So this is an unpredictable manner. I think the only perfect analogy is the erratic behavior of COVID is the erratic behavior of Abbott. You don't know what they're going to do."
Abbott, on Twitter on Tuesday, took credit for sending more than 10,000 migrants to "sanctuary cities."
MIGRANTS FLOWN TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD FILE LAWSUIT
A group of Venezuelans who were among dozens of migrants who were flown to Martha's Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a lawsuit against the Republican governor Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the plaintiffs under pseudonyms against DeSantis and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, claims the migrants were deprived of "their liberty, bodily autonomy, due process, and equal protection under law."
According to the suit, some unidentified people allegedly working with DeSantis had been "trolling streets outside of a migrant shelter in Texas and other similar locales, pretending to be good Samaritans offering humanitarian assistance."
Click here to read more on the lawsuit.
MIGRANT FLIGHT HEADED TO DELAWARE?
On Tuesday afternoon, the White House said they're working with local officials in Delaware to prepare amid reports that another flight of migrants was being sent to President Joe Biden's home state.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday they received word of the reported flight and were working with state officials and local service providers to "welcome them in an orderly manner."
Last week, two planes carrying 48 migrants were flown to Martha's Vineyard by DeSantis. During the weekend, Abbott bused more migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris' Washington home, the Naval Observatory.
At a news conference on Tuesday DeSantis said he could not confirm whether migrants were again being flown out of Texas.
"I cannot confirm that," DeSantis responded.
DeSantis also accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of "releasing people from his prisons and sending them to the southern border." The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry provided this reaction to NBC News: "It is not only absurd but just designed to justify his actions regarding Venezuelan migrants."
BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF OPENS INVESTIGATION
On Monday night, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said he had opened a criminal investigation into last week's flights to Martha's Vineyard.
Salazar appeared on CNN Tuesday afternoon and discussed his investigation and how the flights could be tied to criminal charges.
“I disagree with the way it's being done. They're using these people as political pawns and hoping to overwhelm the place that they're taking them to,” Salazar said. “What I'm trying to determine right now is, was the law broken here in Texas? Namely in Bexar County where I'm the sheriff. That's what we're trying to determine right now."
Salazar said they have received allegations that a crime did occur and that they have names of possible persons of interest.
“What we're hearing, they feel they were lied to, they feel that they were deceived in being taken from Bexar County, from San Antonio, Texas, to where they eventually ended up. They feel like it was done through deceptive means. That could be a crime here in Texas and we will handle it as such,” Salazar said.
