ORANGEBURG, N.Y. (1010 WINS/AP) -- Rockland County Executive Ed Day vowed Monday to fight Mayor Eric Adams' plan to bus asylum seekers to the suburbs north of New York City.
Day, a Republican, plans to enforce a state of emergency he declared over the weekend to thwart Adams' plan to bus hundreds of single adult male migrants to hotels in Rockland and Orange counties.
The immediate plan was to have 340 men bused to the Armoni Inn and Suites in Orangeburg, which is right down the road from Orangetown Town Hall, where the supervisor is considering legal action.
Adams, a Democrat, announced the plan Friday to bus migrants to the two counties north of the city on a voluntary basis. He said the program would help the city handle the more than 37,500 asylum seekers already in the city’s care.
"The mayor has found that he's bitten off more than he can chew, and now he wants to get rid of his problem," Day told 1010 WINS. "How horrible is that? We're dealing in human trafficking now in order to solve our problems?"
"Mr. Mayor, this is your responsibility, own it and deal with it," Day said. "Do not take your problems and give them to other counties. You have no authority to do that, number one. This is under the table and political nonsense, number two."
Adams said the migrants would be provided with meals and other services during their time in the hotels.
Day responded by announcing a state of emergency Saturday. He said the move is not anti-immigrant and that the county simply doesn't have the infrastructure and resources to deal with busloads of migrants.
The county executive said Rockland County already has an “extreme” housing crisis and sending busloads of migrants "will only compound that issue tenfold while straining support systems that are already at a breaking point."
Day said in a news release that the state of emergency will prohibit other municipalities from bringing people to Rockland County and will prohibit hotels and motels from housing immigrants without a license.
He said the state of emergency will remain in effect for at least 30 days and include fines of $2,000 per migrant for the hotels and for any municipality that sends migrants to Rockland.
Day held a news conference Monday with other opponents of Adams' plan including U.S. Rep. Michael Lawler, a Republican.
Asked for a comment on Day's state of emergency, a spokesperson for Adams referred to the mayor's Friday news release about the migrant plan.
The U.S. is preparing for a surge of migrants when Title 42 ends on Thursday. The public health law was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed the U.S. to quickly expel many migrants.
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