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Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Appears Live on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos

September 18, 2022

Jonathan Karl: Let's bring in the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. Mayor Adams, thank you for joining us. So you have said that New York is overwhelmed by this crisis. What are you being told by the Biden Administration? What are they doing to alleviate the situation?

Mayor Eric Adams: A crisis calls for coordination, and I traveled to Washington last week, spoke with Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and other lawmakers, and sat down with the Biden Administration to talk about how do we coordinate. And their goal is to make sure that we get the resources and the coordinations that's needed. As the mayor of El Paso stated, these migrants and asylum seekers are not coming to any particular city. They've come to America. This is an American crisis that we need to face, a humanitarian crisis that was made by human hands by some of the governors in our southern states.

Karl: You warned the other day that New York City is reaching a breaking point. There's been 11,000, I believe you said, 11,000 migrants that have come to New York since May, but look at what we just heard from the mayor of El Paso. The other day they had 2,000 in a single day. How is it that New York City is overwhelmed when it's a fraction of what we're seeing on the border?

Mayor Adams: Well, what's happening, a playbook that many of the Republican governors, DeSantis and Abbot are using is now to ship those migrants out to other states, particularly a place like New York. As you saw, the mayor of El Paso indicates that when you have sponsors, it's an easier transition. If we would have properly coordinated with the governors in these southern states and stated, "Let's find where the sponsors are." We have large Venezuela communities in America. Let's coordinate in that fashion like we've done with others, other large communities we have in New York City where we're able to coordinate, give sponsors, work with our non-government organizations. That is what crisis calls for. It calls for coordination. There was no coordination at all with Governor Abbott and Governor DeSantis, just wanted to use this political ploy instead of understanding, these are people, these are families, these are human beings.

Karl: Have you had any direct contact with either the governor of Florida or the governor of Texas? What's your message to them?

Mayor Adams: We reached out to Governor Abbott when we first discovered that he was compelling people to get on the bus, he was tagging them. He was sending them on a 45 hour ride without any proper food, water, or medical care. We reached out and stated that, "Let's coordinate and work together so we could deal with this crisis together." They refused to do so. And this is really -

Karl: Wait, wait, wait.

Mayor Adams: Just a cover up -

Karl: Excuse me. Are you saying that they wouldn't even take your call?

Mayor Adams: No, they did just the opposite. They took the call and stated that they would coordinate ... I'm talking about Governor Abbott. That they would coordinate and they did not coordinate at all because I don't think it was politically expedient for them to coordinate. It was more to do this basic political showmanship that you're seeing now.

Karl: You pledged during your campaign to keep New York City a sanctuary city. Do you have any concern that that policy is attracting more people to the border, more people to cross the border to make that dangerous trip?

Mayor Adams: No, not at all. This city has always been a sanctuary city, and we've always managed those who wanted to come to New York City to pursue the American dream. Let's be clear here. We've all come from somewhere. Our lineage came from a location, and the pursuit of the American dream is what we've all fought for. It could be done correctly by making sure people legally enter the country and we coordinate in a proper way. And that's what we are stating. And I will always believe that this is a country where people want to pursue the American dream, and there are ways it could be done correctly.

Karl: So if I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying New York City is prepared to welcome more and more of these migrants, but you want the coordination with the border states and you want resources from the federal government?

Mayor Adams: No, no. What I'm saying clearly is what we've always done. New York City has always been a sanctuary city, a city with right-to-shelter, and we're going to continue to do that. We have a moral and legal obligation to do so. We're not asking for people all over the country to send people to New York merely because they don't want to take on their responsibility to help those who are seeking this American dream. That is not what we're asking for. We want to continue what we've always done, and that is ensure that people who came to this city were treated in a humane fashion. We're not seeing that now. This humanitarian crisis was created by human hands, and I believe is a political ploy to overlook some of the things we've done that dismantle human rights, everything from the women's right to choose, to gun control. This is the same playbook that we're seeing playing out.

Karl: Vice President Harris one week ago said that the border is secure. Do you agree with that? Do you think our southern border is secure?

Mayor Adams: I believe that we can continue to coordinate better to make sure that it is secured properly. And I think that it's crucial that anyone that comes in this country should not be coming here to harm Americans, no matter what entryway they're doing. And I think that the partnership that we've been working on with the White House is going to do everything possible to make sure that continues.

Karl: Governor Abbott said that he has invited you to come to the border to see the situation for yourself. Any plans to do that?

Mayor Adams: I believe that Governor Abbot should coordinate with every city that the buses pass through to make sure that they are informed of what he is doing. And there are ways to do that without any political ploy. We don't have to stand up on the border to state that the crisis he created is a real crisis. It is time for him to be the chief executive that he is and coordinate with every city in every state the buses passed through so we can properly coordinate as leaders of these major municipalities.

Karl: All right. Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City. Thank you for joining us.

Mayor Adams: Thank you.

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