Mayor Eric Adams brings concerns about migrant crisis in NYC to Mexico
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in Mexico as part of a four-day trip to learn more about the flow of migrants into the U.S., while at the same time, spread a message about the realities of arriving in his city.
He arrived in Mexico Wednesday night and met with the Consul General of Mexico in New York along with other leaders.
Adams says he plans to be transparent with asylum seekers about the reality on the streets of New York City.
He says dispelling falsehoods about coming to the city will help migrants manage their expectations.
"New York City is at capacity, thousands of individuals are living in congregant shelter settings, you are not automatically allowed to work, it is extremely difficult situations," Adams said.
He was scheduled to meet with a nun running a migrant shelter in Mexico City Thursday before heading to the city of Puebla, source of many of the Mexican migrants who arrive in New York, to meet with migrants and community leaders there.
The mayor said the migrant crisis is a global issue and requires help from every country.
"It's not sustainable," Adams said at the base of a basilica where people often pray before setting out on their journeys. "The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City. ... There is a global migration and it must have an international response."
He will head to Ecuador on Friday and will go to the Darien Gap in Colombia on Saturday.
The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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