Oh, Canada: Stefanik blasts Adams as helping migrants ‘escape law,’ Biden for ‘passing buck’
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Mayor Eric Adams came under fire Monday from a top Republican member of Congress who accused him of helping migrants illegally leave New York for Canada in violation of US law.
US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) of Glens Falls blasted the mayor following an exclusive NY Post report that revealed how migrants got free bus tickets to upstate Plattsburgh, then walked into Canada at an unofficial border crossing 20 miles north.
“New Yorkers deserve answers for why their taxpayer dollars are being spent to help illegal immigrants violate their parole and escape the law,” said the No. 4 House Republican, whose district covers Plattsburgh and the Roxham Road crossing into Canada.
“Through these taxpayer-funded bus rides, we must know how many of these illegal immigrants are escaping into upstate New York communities and where they are resettling.”
Stefanik also accused President Biden of “passing the buck and shifting his illegal immigrant problem across New York state.”
Earlier Monday, Adams acknowledged that the city was paying for migrants to abandon New York City in favor of the Great White North.
During an appearance on Fox 5 TV’s “Good Day New York,” Adams said his administration had forged “an amazing partnership with Catholic Charities,” which funds migrant travel across the US.
“If they’re seeking to go somewhere else, we are helping in the re-ticketing process,” he said. “Some want to go to Canada, some want to go to warmer states, and we are there for them as they continue to move on with their pursuit of this dream.”
The Post accompanied several migrants on van rides from Plattsburgh to the Canadian border, where they trudged north on a snow-covered path and were arrested by Mounties stationed nearby.
A source familiar with the process has told The Post that migrants can’t be sent directly to Canada because they’re required to remain in the US and seek asylum under the terms of their release by immigration officials at the southern border.
In October, Adams declared a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis, which he’s since said could cost taxpayers as much as $2 billion for housing and other services.
Adams has been publicly pleading for Biden to provide $1 billion in emergency aid and last month also called on the president to close the southern border to migrants until after their asylum applications were reviewed.
Meanwhile, one of the migrants The Post interviewed before he crossed into Canada last week said he already regretted his decision.
Colombian native Jose Liandro, 37, said in a text message that he was staying at a Hampton Inn and Suites hotel on the outskirts of Montreal but wanted to return to the US.
Asked why, Liandro replied, “Mucha nieve,” which is Spanish for, “Lots of snow.”
As of Sunday, about 44,700 migrants had arrived in the Big Apple since the spring and more than 28,800 were being housed in 88 city shelters, including a controversial, 1,000-bed Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center in Red Hook, Brooklyn, according to City Hall.
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