New York City seeks $708 million from bus companies for transporting migrants from Texas

New York City is seeking $708 million in a lawsuit filed Thursday against 17 charter bus and transportation companies who brought migrants from Texas as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's border plan.

Mayor Eric Adams alleged the companies transported tens of thousands of people over the past two years “without paying to care for them” and said the influx has overwhelmed the city’s social services system.

"Governor Abbott's continued use of migrants as political pawns is not only chaotic and inhumane but makes clear he puts politics over people," Adams said Thursday.

The Texas governor said he has sent nearly 100,000 migrants from the southern border to other cities under Operation Lone Star. Last month, New York City recorded 14,700 migrant arrivals, including 14 buses in a single night. Officials in New York, Chicago and Denver said they have been struggling to accommodate the large swaths of people, many of whom arrive with no support systems, housing or money and overwhelm emergency shelters.

The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court Thursday comes one week after Adams signed an executive order restricting where and when buses carrying migrants can drop off passengers in the city. Within days, bus drivers began dropping off passengers at New Jersey train stations instead, officials said.

Texas is sending migrants to Democrat-run cities

Abbott started sending migrants by bus to what he described as “self-declared sanctuary cities” in April 2022, including Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles. He has repeatedly slammed President Joe Biden for his immigration plan, alleging Texas border towns have been overwhelmed by the “border crisis.” Some of the Democratic city leaders have also joined hands in calling for more federal support.

New York City is seeking $708 million from the companies, the amount spent in caring for the migrants transported in from Texas.

The lawsuit alleges the companies have significantly profited from Abbott’s plan as they make about $1,650 per person compared to about $300 for a single one-way ticket. 

"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," said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. "If they are getting paid to break the law by transporting people in need of public assistance into our state, they should be on the hook for the cost of sheltering those individuals – not just passing that expense along to hard-working New Yorkers.”

The Texas governor said on Thursday the lawsuit was "baseless."

"Every migrant bused or flown to New York City did so voluntarily, after having been authorized by the Biden Administration to remain in the United States," Abbott said. "As such, they have constitutional authority to travel across the country that Mayor Adams is interfering with. If the Mayor persists in this lawsuit, he may be held legally accountable for his violations."

Most of the companies named in the suit are based in Texas: Carduan Tours LLC, Classic Elegance Coaches LLC, Ejecutivo Enterprises Inc., El Paso United Charters LLC, Garcia and Garcia Enterprises Inc., JY Charter Bus Inc., Lily’s Bus Lines Inc., Norteno Express LLC, Roadrunner Charters Inc., Southwest Crew Change Company LLC, Transportes Regiomontanos Inc., VLP Charter LLC, and Wynne Transportation LLC. 

Others are Ohio-based Buckeye Coach LLC, Louisiana-based Coastal Crew Change Company LLC and Mayo Tours Inc., and Iowa-based Windstar Lines Inc. 

Abbott’s border plan

Abbott has come under fire in recent years for his border plan, including for the installation of buoys and miles of razor wire at the U.S.-Mexico border. In July, USA TODAY documented how migrants, including children, were snared by razor wire and left with gashes and slice wounds. An internal email from a Texas state trooper raised the alarm that the state's efforts had become "inhumane."

In the latest development, the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday sued the state of Texas and Abbott to block a slate of new state-level immigration penalties from taking effect, including allowing police to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally.

In the federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, prosecutors argue that Senate Bill 4 — which Abbott signed into law last month — will infringe upon and counteract federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. SB4, set to take effect in March, creates criminal penalties for illegal border crossings with provisions allowing state judges to deport individuals.