NYC Mayor: We May Put Migrants on Cruise Ships

Eric Adams suggests the idea as more flood into city
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2022 12:08 PM CDT
New York City May Put Migrants on Cruise Ships
New York City Mayor Eric Adams.   (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

As New York City scrambles to handle a deluge of migrants bused in from the southern border, Mayor Eric Adams has raised a controversial idea—putting them on cruise ships. "We're examining everything, from the legality of using any type of cruise ship for temporary housing," Adams told CBS New York. "We're looking at everything to see how do we deal with this." Pressed on the cruise ship detail, Adams reiterated that "we're looking at it," adding that previous administrations have considered the possibility for homeless people.

The New York Times reports that mayoral chief of staff Frank Carone has spoken with officials from Norwegian Cruise Line to discuss the possibility and even stayed aboard one of the company's ships to research the idea. The Times also talks to advocates for migrants who call the idea misguided because migrants would not have access to transportation, food, and schools, and might be more vulnerable to renewed outbreaks of COVID-19. “It just seems absurd," says Deborah Diamant of the Coalition for the Homeless. “We know what the solution is—it’s permanent affordable housing.”

All this comes as nine more buses of asylum-seekers rolled into the city on Sunday, with each carrying 40 to 50 people, reports the New York Post. The buses are part of a strategy employed by authorities in Texas to send newly arrived migrants north to Democrat-run cities such as New York. The city has taken in more than 11,000 migrants since May, and the emergency shelters are strained. Adams has repeatedly referred to the situation as a "humanitarian crisis," per the Times. (More migrants stories.)

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