The mayors of New York City and Chicago denounced Colorado for busing migrants to the two cities — calling it inhumane and a strain on resources — as President Joe Biden’s first presidential visit to the U.S.-Mexico border highlights immigration issues.
Colorado has sent hundreds of asylum seekers to the cities since December, with shelters reaching maximum capacity and services to support them now exhausted, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said in a letter to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat.
The two cities are among a handful of so-called “sanctuary cities” that have received thousands of migrants since early 2022 from other states, predominately from Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott seeks to pressure Biden on immigration policy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis even flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, the tony Massachusetts island known for its luxury homes and the billionaires who own them.
“Although we share the concerns of accommodating the flood of asylum seekers, overburdening other cities is not the solution,” the mayors said in a statement.
Polis told the Denver Gazette this week that he notified New York about the buses.
The drive from Colorado to New York takes about 28 hours, while it’s 16 hours to Chicago. Migrants often arrive in the cities with few or no connections and resources, and rely on the city and local charities for housing and food.
The mayors sent the letter as Biden prepares to visit El Paso, Texas, where a fourfold surge in migrants has made it the center for the border security debate. While El Paso also sends some migrants elsewhere, Democratic Mayor Oscar Leeser coordinates it with officials in recipient regions.
