Adams Invites Visiting TX Gov To Stay At NYC Migrant Shelter

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's top official extended an invitation to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was visiting the city Thursday for a Republican Party fundraiser: Sleep in a migrant shelter so he can "see what he has created."

Mayor Eric Adams offered the sarcastic helping hand during a news conference at City Hall, according to a transcript of the speech obtained by Patch.

Abbott, who has bussed thousands of migrants to New York City since 2022, was set to arrive in the city later that day to headline the New York Republican Party's annual gala.

When asked about the governor's visit, Adams suggested Abbott stay in one of the city's many Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers set up to house the more than 180,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City since Adams was elected, the Daily News reported.

"I’m going to offer him a stay in one of the HERRCs, so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown," Adams said during the news conference.

In April 2022, Abbott announced he was planning to other states migrants who had been released from federal custody. Since then, Texas has transported more than 102,000 migrants to cities including New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., according to a Texas Tribune report.

Records obtained by the Tribune showed that as of Jan. 24, the state had spent more than $148 million to bus migrants to predominantly Democratic cities.

Since then, New York City has struggled to respond to the influx of people arriving in the city. Adams previously called it a "humanitarian crisis" that will cost the city about $12 billion over three years.

On Thursday night, Abbott addressed the mayor's comments while speaking at the GOP fundraiser.

"The complaining by Mayor Adams is nothing short of stunning. What he has is a tiny fraction of what Texas gets every day,” Abbott said, according to Fox News.

He continued, saying Texas decided to bus migrants to New York City after Adams criticized Abbott's handling of migrants, Fox News reported.

"If I’m going to get the criticism, I want to get the credit," Abbott said. "And thus began the busing of illegal immigrants to the sanctuary city of New York City."