NYC Mayor Eric Adams retracts offer to house undocumented immigrants at Mayor’s Mansion.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Backtracks on Plan to House Illegal Immigrants at Mayor’s Mansion

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has reversed his stance on potentially housing illegal immigrants at the mayor’s mansion, citing “legal issues” as the reason for his change of heart.

Previously, Adams had expressed openness to allowing illegal immigrants to stay at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the New York City mayor in Manhattan. The city has experienced an influx of migrants, partly due to efforts by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott to transport illegal migrants to New York City.

“I think leading the challenge of the migrant problem is both substantive and symbolic and as I always said, ‘Good generals lead from the front,'” Adams stated, according to the New York Post. “The symbolism of saying, ‘I’m willing to put a homeless family in Gracie’ is that symbolism.”

However, Adams now acknowledges that there are legal limitations preventing him from fulfilling his previous offer.

“[W]e are never going to break the law. And so, we’d be able to know what we can’t do and what we can’t do as a symbolism of saying, ‘I’m willing to open up the people’s house to the people of the city,'” Adams explained.

On June 6, Adams initially expressed his willingness to house a “migrant family” at Gracie Mansion, stating, “I don’t have a problem if I can put a migrant family in Gracie Mansion because I want to lead from the front.”

Adams’ staff, however, needed to investigate whether there were any legal limitations on the usage of the residence.

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Surge in Asylum Seekers and Lawsuit Against New York Counties

New York City has experienced a significant increase in asylum seekers, with over 74,000 individuals seeking housing since last spring, according to Adams’ office. As of June 4, more than 47,200 asylum seekers were still being provided shelter by the City of New York.

Additionally, Mayor Adams is leading a lawsuit against 30 New York counties that have refused to house illegal immigrants, claiming that their actions are hindering the city’s response to a statewide emergency. If successful, the lawsuit could result in the invalidation of policies implemented by these counties.

Spencer Lindquist contributed to this report.