New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams has escalated his conflict with Texas Governor Greg Abbott by filing a lawsuit against 17 transportation companies. The lawsuit alleges that these companies were involved in Governor Abbott’s plan to transport over 30,000 migrants to New York City, intending to shift the financial burden of their care onto the city.
The legal action, seeking more than $700 million in damages, represents the estimated cost incurred by the city for the care and shelter of the migrants. Filed in New York State Supreme Court, the lawsuit contends that deliberately transporting migrants with the intention of burdening New York City violates state law.
The transportation companies named in the lawsuit include Buckeye Coach LLC from Ohio and Classic Elegance Coaches from El Paso, Texas. The lawsuit accuses them of facilitating Governor Abbott’s plan and aims to hold them accountable for the associated costs.
In a one-minute video accompanying the lawsuit, Mayor Adams, a Democrat, emphasized that New York City cannot bear the financial repercussions of political maneuvers from Texas alone. The arrival of over 160,000 migrants in the city has been a significant challenge during Adams’ first two years in office, with estimated costs of $12 billion over three years for sheltering migrants.
Adams has adopted a more assertive legal approach in recent weeks, introducing controls on how charter buses can transport migrants. These measures limit drop-off hours and locations, leading to unpredictable drop-offs in New Jersey. The lawsuit cites these actions as evidence of the bus companies’ “bad faith.”
Governor Kathy Hochul supports the lawsuit, stating, “Governor Abbott continues to use human beings as political pawns, and it’s about time that the companies facilitating his actions take responsibility for their role in this ongoing crisis.”
