NYC buses dozens of migrants to Orange County, civil rights groups sue in support of the move

Several dozen migrants from New York City arrived at a hotel in Orange County by bus on Thursday morning as part of Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to stem the overcrowding of emergency shelters by sending adult migrant men to suburban counties outside the five boroughs.

Adams sent the bus despite the vociferous objections of officials in Orange and Rockland counties. On Thursday, he told reporters that he expects the number of migrants to grow after the pandemic-era border policy known as Title 42 officially expires at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.

“We could potentially get thousands of people a day in our city,” Adams said.

Fabien Levy, the mayor’s press secretary, said a bus departed on Thursday morning. A Spectrum News reporter based in the Hudson Valley later tweeted a video of the men arriving at the Crossroads Hotel in the town of Newburgh, roughly 70 miles outside of New York City.

One photo showed a group of supporters holding signs, including one that read, “Humanity knows no borders.”

The reception sharply contrasted with the previous day's scene, when local authorities spent the day staking out the hotel. They said they were there to enforce a local state of emergency Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus issued earlier this week to prevent hotels and short-term rental properties from taking in migrants.

In a statement, Neuhaus, a Republican, chided the mayor about the chaotic situation.

“Last night, both the state and city assured the town of Newburgh and Orange County that no buses with asylum-seekers would be here until further notice,” he said. “The process has been a disorganized disaster and the blame lies with the mayor of New York, who originally opened the door for as many undocumented immigrants as possible to his self-proclaimed sanctuary city, and the governor.”

On Wednesday, Neuhaus told Gothamist that City Hall informed him of its plans to bus migrants to the city’s northern suburbs on Friday but that he had struggled to get details from the Adams administration.

Legal experts have told Gothamist that attempts to prevent people from relocating upstate were unconstitutional.

“A locality cannot ban people from coming into their communities under the U.S. Constitution,” said Ross Sandler, a professor at New York Law School. “The city can legally purchase or rent housing wherever it is offered by private owners so long as the money is budgeted by the city.”

By Thursday afternoon, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of three migrants challenging Orange County's state of emergency, along with a similar one issued in neighboring Rockland County, where Adams had also intended on sending asylum seekers. A state judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Rockland move earlier this week.

The federal lawsuit claims the orders violate the constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

“Migrants have every right to travel and reside anywhere in New York, free of xenophobic harassment and discrimination," said Amy Belsher, NYCLU's director of immigrants’ rights litigation. "People are not political pawns – both counties should welcome migrants into their communities, not unlawfully bar them from seeking refuge.”

Levy, the mayor's spokesperson, said the city decided against sending any migrants to Rockland County “for now.” A hearing on the temporary restraining order is scheduled for Monday.

Officials said that the city would seek to transport only single adult men who volunteer to leave. Under the plan, the city will fund their hotel stay for four months.

Speaking to reporters Thursday in Mount Vernon, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she fully supports the mayor's efforts to deal with the increase in migrant arrivals, including his decision Wednesday to relax the city's longstanding "right to shelter" provision. But she said the state is working with the city to try to identify locations that are closer to the city and in proximity to more services than the Newburgh hotel, which is located just off I-84 and is about three miles from the closest grocery store.

"That's what we continue to do, looking at state properties," Hochul said. "I've talked to the federal government about federal properties and trying to stand up more sites, because it's been managed, but now we have this enormous influx of individuals that we anticipate coming unless something radically different happens at the border."

Arun Venugopal contributed reporting. This story has been updated with additional information.