New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency to address a “crisis situation” over an influx of migrants.
More than 17,000 have arrived in the city from the southern border since April.
Republican states like Texas, Arizona and Florida have been sending migrants to Democratic areas in recent months.
It’s part of a row with the White House as unprecedented numbers of people arrive at the US-Mexico border.
Since September, an average of five to six buses have been arriving in the city each day, Mr Adams said at a press conference on Friday. He said that one in five people in the city shelter system is currently an asylum seeker.
Many of those arriving are families with school-aged children and are in serious need of medical care, he said.
“New Yorkers are angry,” said Mayor Adams. “I am angry too. We have not asked for this. There was never any agreement to take on the job of supporting thousands of asylum seekers.”
The city’s social services are “being exploited by others for political gain”, he added.
Three states – Texas, Arizona and Florida – have transported migrants to Democratic-led areas, focusing on self-proclaimed “sanctuary” cities that limit their co-operation with federal immigration authorities.
SOURCE: BBC News. Headline photo: Venezuelan migrants
