Judge rules New York cannot block Texas from sending migrant buses

A state court judge ruled that New York City cannot block Texas from sending buses with migrants, who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, to the Big Apple.

Judge Mary Rosado said in a ruling on Thursday the law New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) sought to use to curb the flow of migrant buses into the city is unconstitutional, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Rosado said it “violates a fundamental right — the right to travel,” and that states cannot police interstate travel of passengers solely on their socioeconomic background, according to AP. She said the city should set its sights on Congress for a solution, not impose an “antiquated, unconstitutional statute to infringe on an individual’s right to enter New York based on economic status.”

The court slapped down the lawsuit Adams filed against a dozen bus and transportation companies in January this year. In hopes of cracking down on the influx of migrant buses into New York City, Adams sued 17 charter companies and sought $708 million to cover the price of taking care of migrants sent over by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

Abbott started sending buses filled with migrants who crossed the southern border to cities run by Democrats in April 2022 to protest the way President Biden’s administration has handled the influx of people through the border.

“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone,” Adams said at the time while Abbott denounced the lawsuit as “baseless.”

Prior to filing a lawsuit, Adams issued an emergency executive order in December last year to crack down on bus arrivals, requiring bus operators to provide notice at least 32 hours before their expected arrival to the city.

The Hill has reached out to both Adams and Abbott’s offices for comment.