Democrats could take a beating at polls over migrants

Metro

By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

May 21, 2023 | 3:18pm

New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned Sunday that Democrats could take a pounding at the polls if they don’t do more to curb the migrant crisis.

Adams, speaking on MSNBC, said he tried to raise the alarm about rampant crime plaguing the state last year, only to see it fall on deaf ears in the party, which ended up losing ground to the GOP in Albany during the mid-term elections.

Hizzoner suggested the same thing could happen again over the migrant crisis.

“Let’s be clear: When I talked about public safety and the over-proliferation of guns in our country last year, many people were not listening to the concern of voters, and I’m saying that again,” the mayor told host Jonathan Capehart.

“I would do everything possible to get the president re-elected. I’ve made that clear,” Adams said. “My concern is not politics. It’s people. The people who come into this country should receive the proper care that they deserve and the people who are in this country should not be overburdened with the cost.

“This is not politics for me,” he said. “This is for people.”

State Democrats last year lost ground to Albany Republicans as concerns swirled about spiking crime, although the Dems were still able to cling to a supermajority in the Senate and Assembly.

Adams said Democrats in Albany and Washington, DC, urgently need to step up on migrants — and continued calling on President Biden help New York City and other cities grappling with the crisis.

“No city should have to burden a national problem on its own,” Adams said. “And clearly, when you speak to other mayors and my colleagues across the country that are dealing with this, clearly it’s time for us to sit down and speak with the president so that we can show first-hand how the impact of this crisis is undermining how we carry out our functions in our cities.”

Adams said New York City has received more than 70,000 migrants seeking asylum and has estimated that the eventual cost to the city will be in excess of $4.3 billion by next spring.