New York City Mayor Eric Adams is defending his recent call for budget cuts to compensate for the increasing costs of the migrant crisis, warning that without sufficient resources, the situation will be dire.
"We're about to potentially have to move women and children to sleep in congregate settings outdoors in tents. This is unacceptable. This is not what our city stands for," Adams said on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show."
More than 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring. Nearly 60,000 migrants are occupying beds in traditional city shelters and in more than 200 emergency sites, according to The New York Times. When New York City students returned to school last week, 20,000 migrant children were expected to join them.
On Wednesday the Big Apple leader warned the migrant crisis could "destroy" the city.
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"Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this. I don't see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City," Adams said Wednesday during a Town Hall meeting on the Upper West Side. "We're getting ten thousand migrants a month."
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS PREDICTS MIGRANT CRISIS 'WILL DESTROY NEW YORK CITY'
Adams placed blame on Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott's operation of busing migrants from the border to self-declared sanctuary jurisdictions. But the federal government also relocates migrants from the border to elsewhere in the U.S.
Adams' comments garnered the attention of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who tweeted, "Choosing to gut public programs, favor big business, skyrocket rents, and defunding schools to add another $5 billion in militarization and then blaming immigrants for it is not leadership." She suggested making U.S. foreign policy part of the conversation to reduce the number of asylum seekers in general.
Adams responded to her tweet directly on TV Sunday.
"It is time for my national leaders to step up. I'm hoping that the congresswoman will come in and walk through and see the conditions," Adams told Capehart, adding that "it will potentially destroy this city if we don't get it right."
Fox News' Nikolas Lanum and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
