NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A charter bus company sued by Mayor Eric Adams for transporting thousands of asylum seekers to New York City agreed to halt operations while the case is pending, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.
"New York City continues to do our part as we lead the nation in managing this national humanitarian crisis, but reckless political games from the state of Texas will not be tolerated," Adams said during a press conference.
Court Agreement Between Mayor Eric Adams Administration and Texas Charter Bus Company by David Caplan on Scribd
Roadrunner Charters Inc., one of the 17 bus companies sued in January, settled the lawsuit alleging involvement in a "bad faith" relocation plan that violated state restrictions on abandoning "needy persons" in New York.
"I am pleased to see that Roadrunner – one of the bus companies we sued for taking part in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to our city in an attempt to overwhelm our shelter system and shift costs to New York City – has agreed to halt the bussing of migrants into and around New York City while the lawsuit proceeds," Adams said. "We call on all other bus companies involved in this suit to do the same."
The commissioner of the NYC Dept of Social Services v. various bus companies by David Caplan on Scribd
The lawsuit, filed in state court, sought to block the arrival of busloads of asylum seekers sent by the Republican governor of Texas. The state has sent over 100,000 migrants to "sanctuary cities" like New York, Chicago, and Denver in opposition to President Joe Biden's immigration policies.
The lawsuit rests on a provision of state law that bars knowingly transferring "a needy person from out of state into this state for the purpose of making him a public charge."
The suit cites a report finding that for the trips, the charter bus companies receive roughly $1,650 per person — far higher than the cost of a standard one-way bus ticket — as a testament to the companies' "bad faith" involvement in the scheme.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
