Eric Adams, the 110th mayor of New York City, presented his third State of the City address Thursday at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with notable vim and vigor, positioning himself as a champion of the people and promoting NYC as the ideal place to live. While the address aims to uplift New Yorkers and serves as a vital platform for communication between city leadership and the community, those attuned to recent events might have viewed it as a polished presentation that glosses over unresolved issues.
On immigration: In his address, Adams gave a shoutout to the singer who performed “God Bless America” at the theater where the address took place, and who had fled the Russia-Ukraine war a few years ago. He also applauded Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs for his work and commitment. “A dreamer that’s now making dreams possible for other people,” Adams said.
Next, Adams criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies. “When Washington refused to take action on a broken immigration system, we stood up for our city and pushed back while still caring for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers,” he said. He credited New York’s health agencies for addressing the needs of tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022. “Thanks to our Asylum Application Help Center and our dedicated public service, we have helped more than 178,000 asylum seekers take the next step on their journey. That is nearly 78% of the people who have arrived here since the spring of 2022 taking a major step and a major achievement.”
Adams labeled criticisms about what his administration was not doing as “noise,” saying that when international leaders came to the city, “they said ‘no one is doing what New York City is doing for migrants and asylum seekers, to put them on a pathway of their next journey. You’re the model for the entire country.’”
What Adams did not say: Immigrant rights advocates and professionals watching the State of the City address were surprised at Adams’ presentation on immigration issues.
Adams acknowledged in his address that one of the biggest challenges in his mayorship was the tens of thousands of migrants who arrived in the city, many of whom were involuntarily bused to NYC by other states such as Texas for political reasons.
Over the past three years, Adams said city resources had been strained due to new arrivals and requested state and federal aid, announcing budget measures to address the humanitarian crisis. But a report by the city’s Independent Budget Office, released a day before the State of the City address, revealed that Adams overestimated asylum seeker expenses and failed to adjust the budget despite declining migrant numbers.
The latest report on spending for new arrivals highlights longstanding concerns from advocates and the comptroller’s office, who had long criticized Adams for presenting inflated costs that do not align with actual expenditures on migrants.
Following the Mayor’s address, Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said Adams “spoke about keeping families safe, but is scheming with the Trump administration about how to turn our neighbors over to ICE and erode community trust in our local law enforcement.” He also added that Adams talked about helping new arrivals take “the ‘next step on their journey,’ when that actually means evicting individuals and families from the shelter system and leaving them on the street.”
This week, hundreds of migrant men staying at a Jefferson Street shelter near the Brooklyn Navy Yard were evicted, some were caught unawares and had to leave at the last minute, forcing them into the cold and either into the shelter system process or leaving them with no place to go. Adams is also set to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump’s appointed Border Czar Tom Homan on executing deportation strategies — actions that have created fear and unrest across the same immigrant communities Adams’ praised in his address. The disconnect led hundreds of immigrant community members and advocates to rally against mass deportation at the Capitol Hill steps in Albany on Wednesday.
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