NEW YORK — Buses packed with migrants from the Southern border rolled into the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Monday as a second wave of asylum-seekers heads to New York City.
The influx has prompted Mayor Eric Adams to issue a dire warning that New Yorkers should brace for a strain on city finances and potential reductions in public services, with more than 1,000 new migrants expected to arrive weekly.
Two buses arrived just after 6 a.m., and two more pulled into the Midtown bus terminal to applause from volunteers shortly before 1 p.m., with around 250 migrants arriving in total. Most of the migrants were men and women, with a few young children.
Many carried sleeping bags, blankets and plastic bags with their belongings. Among them was Alexander Prieto, 30, who came from Bogota, Colombia, with his wife and 2-year-old son.
“I came here because of the problems in my country,” he said. " ... I feel OK right now. Thanks to God we made it here.”
The journey, he said, took days and made several stops. His eyes were red with exhaustion. His son was crying. Prieto had a hard time putting words together.
“I guess we’ll just be patient. I’m not sure.”
Title 42, a key Trump-era policy on immigration expires this week, opening the border to increased immigration.
As the city struggles to accommodate the new wave of migrants, Adams said New Yorkers may soon see a reduction in “every” public service they rely on, including policing, sanitation, education and social programs.
The city has taken in around 31,000 asylum-seekers in the past months, straining the city’s already-struggling network of shelters and social services. New intake centers have been opened and around 60 hotels converted into shelters to meet the demand. Adams has requested federal aid to meet the crisis.
The latest influx may also force the city to reopen the controversial tent facility on Randalls Island it used to house migrants, Adams told reporters at a news conference Monday.
But Power Malu, who runs the group Athletes Advocates and Artists, criticized the Adams administration for waiting to prepare for this wave.
“They had several weeks to try to figure out what to do, and I have yet to see or hear any difference on the ground,” said Malu, who spent the morning welcoming new migrants to New York.
“And we’re on the front lines. The real emergency has happened and is happening now because there are people in the shelter system that are not getting the services they need. And here we are with a new onslaught of people coming into the city, and I don’t think anyone has figured anything out.”
Monday was the first day of a second surge following an earlier influx this past summer. Representatives from City Hall and nonprofits were on hand, with a holiday theme at the bus terminal.
Candy canes, coffee, doughnuts and snacks, stocked by nonprofit Team TLC NYC, awaited them. The National Guard was on site as well.
Advocates called for more help from the Adams administration ahead of the surge.
“As far as the city goes, the state goes, I don’t know what kind of communication they have with each other, but they need to step that up,” Malu said.
Adams said that state and federal government officials have “mostly ignored” pleas from the city for money and support to cope with asylum-seekers in desperate need of help.
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(New York Daily News staff writer Chris Sommerfeldt contributed to this story.)
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