Republican governors have been bringing Biden’s border crisis home to self-declared “sanctuary cities,” leaving Democrats at all levels of government scrambling to pass blame for the mess — and exposing unusual fractures within a party typically known for ruthless discipline.
In a sign of how the issue is dividing Dems, New York’s unelected governor Kathy Hochul (D) called on President Biden to “take ownership” of a flood of immigrants that is overwhelming New York City, the New York Post reported.
Hochul blames Biden for immigration crisis
More than 18,000 immigrants have arrived in the city in recent weeks, leading mayor Eric Adams (D) to declare the “unsustainable” crisis an emergency.
While Adams has asked for help from Hochul and Biden, the governor says the problem “belongs to the federal government.”
“We really are looking for a federal response to this – to take ownership of a crisis and we’ll be there to help but this belongs to the federal government,” she said.
Despite Hochul’s efforts to avoid responsibility, her critics, including her Republican election opponent and congressman Lee Zeldin (NY), say she could be doing a lot more to help.
“There are sanctuary state policies that New York has that should be ended. We saw it with the creation of a multi-billion dollar Excluded Workers Fund that was created. They raise taxes in order to pay for it,” Zeldin said at a press conference Wednesday.
Dems scrambling
The border crisis had largely been ignored by Democrats and mainstream media until Republicans like Texas governor Greg Abbott started sending immigrants to liberal cities in protest of Biden’s open border policy, and the burdens it has brought on border communities.
Biden has never taken responsibility for the crisis, and he continues to claim in defiance of observable reality that the border is “secure” while pointing the finger at Republicans like Abbott for their alleged mistreatment of immigrants.
In the meantime, liberal cities like New York are starting to get a taste of what border towns have experienced, with Adams warning city residents in “every community” to expect shelters to pop up at a moment’s notice.
While Adams has continued to toe the party line, those in his circle say he has been left to shoulder the burden by Biden and Hochul, who are both facing high-stakes elections with control of Congress and New York’s governorship on the line.
“Basically, the mayor has been dealing with this so that the president and the governor don’t have to, but that has now become untenable,” said one person close to Adams.