NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Mayor Eric Adams will depart Wednesday on a four-day trip to Central and South America to “learn more about the path asylum seekers take to get to the United States” as he looks to curb their influx into New York.
The mayor told reporters Tuesday that he anticipates meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and other leaders to develop partnerships and "really start having a conversation."
"The goal is, number one, I want to see what's happening in the Darién Gap to see what that flow looks like. I was told by the world leaders who came here during [the United Nations General Assembly] that there's a heavy flow that's coming through," Adams said.
"Number two, I want to give the people of those areas a real story of what is happening in New York City. There's a public relation campaign that people are using in these areas to state that if you come to New York, you're going to get whatever you need."
A schedule released by City Hall on Monday shows the mayor will depart for Mexico City on Wednesday and continue the whirlwind tour in Ecuador and Colombia before landing back in New York on Sunday.
After arriving in Mexico City Wednesday, Adams will attend the North Capital Forum, where he'll meet with local and national leaders to learn more about the issues at the southern border and discuss their impacts on New York City.
The mayor will start Thursday in Mexico City before traveling to Puebla, Mexico, where many Mexican immigrants in New York hail from, his office said.
He'll then head back to Mexico City before traveling to Quito, Ecuador, to meet with local and national leaders and visit asylee integration programs.
Adams will be in Quito on Friday to tour local sites that are handling the flow of asylum seekers, as well as to meet with national leaders to discuss the crisis.
The mayor will travel Friday night to Bogotá, Colombia, and then Saturday to the Darién Gap, a heavily forested area separating Colombia and Panama that many migrants pass through as they head north from South America.
He'll depart Colombia on Saturday evening and arrive back in New York early Sunday, according to his office.
The trip comes as the city faces a surge of migrants that has resulted in well over 110,000 people landing in the city since last spring. There are currently more than 60,000 migrants in the city's care, with around 10,000 new arrivals each month.
On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 18,000 jobs were made available to asylum seekers and migrants as part of a statewide initiative to move them out of shelters and into independent living.
Adams has said in recent weeks that he sees no obvious path out of the crisis and that it will cost the city more than $12 billion over three years.
The trip also comes after months of frosty relations between City Hall and the White House, with the mayor putting increasing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to help New York.
"We can't sit back and continue to expect we'll get the relief we deserve," Adams said at Tuesday's news conference.