NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Mayor Eric Adams canceled a planned trip to the U.S.-Mexico border this weekend, and City Hall cited “safety concerns” in one of the Mexican cities that he planned to visit as the reason for the change.
Adams had been invited by Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of the faith-based organization Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, to meet with her and her team at the southern border.
“As Lent draws to a close, our team was excited to stand with faith and humanitarian leaders who have dedicated their lives to serving the most needy among us and we were eager to discuss our work in New York City and across the country,” a City Hall spokesperson said. “But due to safety concerns at one of the cities we were going to visit in Mexico … we have decided to pause this visit at this time.”
The spokesperson said that the U.S. Department of State flagged the safety concerns, but did not disclose information about which city had concerns or what the exact concerns were.
“We hope to continue our partnership with these nationally-recognized Latino leaders and organizations as we look for concrete solutions to resolve the crisis at the border,” City Hall said.
This trip would have marked Adams’ second visit to the border during his time as mayor, a move he previously employed in January 2023 to bring attention to the growing migrant crisis.
Adams has consistently worked to garner national attention and implore federal legislators to provide federal support to help the city manage the financial needs of the migrant crisis.
City Hall said that since the spring of 2022, over 184,000 migrants have come into the city seeking care; currently, about 65,000 are being taken care of by the city.
“More than 120,000 of them have been able to take the next steps in their journeys towards self-sufficiency thanks to our hard work,” a City Hall spokesperson said.
The Adams administration says it has spent nearly $4 billion on the migrant crisis, and has projected that the cost will reach $12 billion by the end of fiscal year 2025.
In order to reverse several controversial budget cuts made in the fall that Adams attributed in part to the migrant crisis, City Hall worked to find ways to reduce migrant-related costs, and in a recent legal win, NYC came to a temporary agreement with the Legal Aid Society that limits stays in shelters for single adults to 30 days.
But even with these city-focused successes, Adams continues to call for federal help.
“Finding solutions to national issues requires national collaboration,” a City Hall spokesperson said.
Adams last canceled a trip in November when an FBI raid on his former chief fundraiser as part of an ongoing federal investigation into his 2021 campaign. prompted him to clear his schedule of migrant crisis-related meetings in Washington, D.C.