Greg Abbott denounces $708M lawsuit against bus companies transporting illegals to NYC

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has denounced the $708 million lawsuit filed by New York City (NYC) Mayor Eric Adams against charter bus companies transporting immigrants to the city.

"This lawsuit is baseless and deserves to be sanctioned. It’s clear that Mayor Adams knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution or about the constitutional right to travel that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court," Abbott posted on X, just hours after Adams announced the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed on January 4, claims that Texas has sent over 33,600 immigrants to NYC since August 2022. Cited as defendants in the lawsuit are the 17 charter bus and transportation companies used by Texas to transport the illegals: Buckeye Coach, Carduan Tours, Classic Elegance Coaches, Coastal Crew Change Company, Ejecutivo Enterprises, El Paso United Charters, Garcia and Garcia Enterprises, JY Charter Bus, Lily’s Bus Lines, Mayo Tours, Norteno Express, Roadrunner Charters, Southwest Crew Change Company, Transportes Regiomontanos, VLP Charter, Windstar Lines and Wynne Transportation. Adams accused these bus and transportation companies of implementing the plan to transport immigrants to NYC "without any regard for the individuals they were transporting or an effort to help manage this humanitarian crisis." The lawsuit also claims that these companies are profiting from the strategy to create disorder and transfer the usual expenses of migration from the southern border to NYC and other cities nationwide. However, Abbott posted on X that these allegations were not true. "Every migrant bused or flown to New York City did so voluntarily, after having been authorized by the Biden administration to remain in the United States. As such, they have the constitutional authority to travel across the country that Mayor Adams is interfering with. If the Mayor persists in this lawsuit, he may be held legally accountable for his violations," he wrote.

Adams accused transportation and bus companies of violating the Social Services Law

According to Adams, sending illegal migrants without transportation and bus companies covering the costs of their continued care violates the Social Services Law of NYC. This law mandates that those bringing migrants from out of state into New York must either support them at their own expense or convey them out of state. "These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that’s why we are suing to recoup approximately $700 million already spent to care for migrants sent here in the last two years by Texas. Governor Abbott’s continued use of migrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane but makes clear he puts politics over people. Today’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to all those who break the law in this way," he said on the announcement of the lawsuit. The legal action seeks not only compensation for past expenses but also demands that Texas cover all costs for immigrants sent to the city in the future. This came after he warned the public that illegal immigrants may soon find themselves sleeping on the streets due to their struggle to accommodate the influx of approximately 2,500 illegal immigrants per week, with numbers occasionally soaring to over 4,000 in some weeks.

"We're not just saying we're out of room as a sound bite; we're out of room literally. People are going to be eventually sleeping on the streets," Adams stated.

He explained that the city would soon only be able to offer food, shelter and clothing due to the continuous strain on resources, with the city expected to spend around $12 billion in the next three years to manage the increasing number of immigrants. He also stated that his administration is unable to alter the "sanctuary" status of NYC, which safeguards immigrants from being handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. "I don’t have the authorization to tell people they can’t come into New York City. It’s against the law. We cannot, by law, tell someone if they come into the city, ‘you can’t come into the city.’ We can’t even turn them over to ICE," he said. (Related: Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleads with Texas Gov. Abbott to stop sending illegal migrants to her sanctuary city.)

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Adams accused transportation and bus companies of violating the Social Services Law

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