Mayors Eric Adams of New York City and Lori Lightfoot of Chicago teamed up in sending a "cease and desist" letter to Colorado's governor and fellow Democrat Jared Polis, demanding he stop busing migrants to their cities.
"Although we share the concerns of accommodating the flood of asylum seekers, overburdening other cities is not the solution. We respectfully demand that you cease and desist sending migrants to New York City and Chicago," the letter reads, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
"Before the first bus arrived in either of our cities, we informed a Colorado official directly that neither city had any additional room to accommodate any more migrants because of the thousands of migrants that had already been inhumanely bused to our respective cities from Texas since spring of 2022."
Last Tuesday, Adams complained of Polis's new plan to help migrants get to sanctuary cities like NYC, saying during WABC's "Sid and Friends in the Morning" Radio Show, "We were notified [Monday] that the governor of Colorado is now stating that they are going to be sending migrants to places like New York and Chicago."
"This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation," he added.
According to Axios, at least 3,500 migrants have arrived in Denver, Colorado from the US-Mexico border since December 9, prompting Mayor Michael Hancock to declare a state of emergency on Dec. 15.
"States and cities not on the border are ill-equipped to address these challenges, and absent federal support and leadership, we're left to strategize and take actions to ensure this vulnerable population – people who've come here with no resources or means – are safe and treated humanely," Hancock said in a statement.
According to Polis, his administration is just helping migrants reach their intended destinations because 70 percent don't plan to stay in Colorado. However, he gave in to the progressive mayor's requests.
In response, Polis's office posted a Saturday update saying he "had a very productive conversation with Mayor Adams and Mayor Lightfoot" where he shared that there are "no more buses scheduled for migrants from Denver to Chicago at this time."
The update added that the final bus to New York will arrive Sunday.
In October 2021, Mayor Adams tweeted in support for NYC remaining a sanctuary city.
"'We should protect our immigrants.' Period," he wrote.
"Yes, New York City will remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration."
