New York Migrant Busing Crisis Begs the Question: “How Many?”

The “migrant busing” story has taken a new turn. New York City – a self-proclaimed “sanctuary city” – has “no more room” according to its mayor. Now, apparently, NYC is busing migrants north of the border.

Exceeding worldly limits can quickly become a cruel kind of compassion.

There are 160 million adults worldwide who want to permanently relocate to the United States today. Hundreds of millions more would resettle here if they only could.

New York City is buckling under 30,000.

Mayor Adams believes he needs $4.2 billion to cover the costs of the crisis in 2023 and 2024, and he doesn’t have the budget. That’s the cold reality.

The welcoming instinct may be limitless in the human heart, but there are only so many people a city can house, feed, and otherwise provide for. Even in a rich megacity like New York, the promise of infinite vacant housing and empty beds eventually runs up against spatial limits and proves to be unsustainable.

In addition to housing, people need new/expanded municipal infrastructure such as water supply lines, roads, schools, police/fire, and even sewage treatment capacity. Increased density can mitigate the impact this development has on nature and open space, but it cannot offset the losses. Higher densities also lead to higher rates of mental illness and stress, which is why most people go to beautiful, calm, open areas to relax and unwind.

Now that illegal immigration has numerically overtaken legal immigration, Congress must act. The Border Safety and Security Act, H.R. 29 would require the Department of Homeland Security to turn illegal migrants away if they cannot be detained or put into a program like the Migrant Protection Protocols. By requiring DHS to stop releasing migrants into America, this bill would remove the incentives and expectations for coming to America without authorization, and would be the first step towards stabilizing the border.

JEREMY BECK is a V.P., Deputy Director for NumbersUSA