Buses appear to be dropping off migrants in New Jersey cities in order to circumvent a new order by Mayor Eric Adams that seeks to limit arrivals. According to Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli, several buses full of migrants headed to New York City deposited their passengers at Secaucus Junction over the weekend, and migrants then boarded trains to New York City.
“It seems quite clear the bus operators are finding a way to thwart the requirements of the Executive Order by dropping migrants at the train station in Secaucus and having them continue to their final destination”, Mayor Gonnelli said in a statement on Dec. 31.
Gonnelli said “it seems train tickets are being secured for the migrants and they have been making their way to their final destination” though he did not say who had secured those tickets.
Last week, Adams signed an executive order saying chartered buses bringing migrants to the city could only drop off passengers between 8:30 a.m. and noon, from Monday to Friday, on West 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues in Manhattan. The order also required that the city get notice at least 32 hours before buses arrive.
On Monday, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said Adams’ executive order limiting bus arrivals is an effort to “ensure the safety and well-being of both migrants and city staff receiving them.”
But, Mamelak said, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “continues to treat asylum seekers like political pawns, and is instead now dropping families off in surrounding cities and states in the cold, dark of night with train tickets to travel to New York City.”
Secaucus Mayor Gonnelli said Adams’ rules may be “too stringent” and bus operators seem to have discovered a “loophole.”
Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, said the state has tracked similar drop-offs at multiple NJ TRANSIT stations.
“New Jersey is primarily being used as a transit point for these families — all or nearly all of them continued with their travels en route to their final destination of New York City,” Jones said. “We are closely coordinating with our federal and local partners on this matter, including our colleagues across the Hudson.”
According to Mamelak, the city has served 161,000 migrants since spring 2022.
Adams has argued that supporting the newcomers is forcing budget cuts across city agencies and has lobbied the federal government for additional funding.
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