Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday ridiculed repeated claims from the White House that the southern border is secure, scoffing that the crush of migrants overwhelming the Big Apple was “coming from somewhere.”
In an exclusive, virtual sit-down with The Post’s Editorial Board, Adams also blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers for failing to help the city beyond offering condescending assurances that he’s “doing a great job.”
One day after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defiantly declared that “the border is not open” despite a record 2.4 million migrant encounters in fiscal 2022, Adams was asked if he agreed with her assertion.
“They’re coming from somewhere, so, if it’s not open, they’re coming from somewhere,” Hizzoner said. “So, we need to deal with the border issue.”
Adams — who on Monday warned that an expected surge of migrants would impact “every service” that New Yorkers rely on, including the NYPD — said the out-of-control situation was “really hurting our cities” and called it “unfair.”
“We should not be saying to longstanding Americans and New Yorkers that we’re not going to give you those services after the traumatizing impact of COVID,” he said.
Adams also stepped up his criticism of Hochul, who his administration faulted Sunday for leaving the city “to address this issue alone.”
“All of our state electeds should be engaged in this conversation of how we’re going to resolve this, and maybe you have heard from them but I haven’t heard from anyone,” the mayor said.
Asked what happens when he calls Hochul to plead for help, Adams said all he’s told is, “Well, we see you guys are doing a good job.”
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“No!” he said. “We’re doing a good job because we have to really string this along. But we all must get engaged in this.”
Adams also revealed that he sent a desperate letter earlier in the day to Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Brooklyn), “asking the City Council members to take a 50% cut in their discretionary dollars.”
“Because many of them are, you know, talking about what we need to be doing to help the migrant [asylum] seekers,” he said. “So, they need to help also. You know, let’s not spend other people’s money, so we need them to take a 50% cut in the end of the year so we can contribute and throw the money in a pot.”
A spokesperson for the council speaker said the mayor’s letter hadn’t arrived and declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took credit Tuesday for adding $800 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s proposed budget, saying New York City could seek to draw on those funds to help offset the estimated $1 billion cost of providing migrants with housing and other services.
As of Sunday, more than 31,800 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring, with nearly 21,700 living in taxpayer-funded emergency shelters, according to the latest figures released by City Hall.
In addition to Jean-Pierre’s remarks Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris — who Biden last year put in charge of the migration crisis — insisted in September that the southern border was “secure” before blaming the millions of crossings on “a lot of problems that we are trying to fix given the deterioration that happened over the last four years.”
Earlier this month, Biden flew to Arizona to deliver a short speech at a microchip factory but said he didn’t have time to visit the nearby border with Mexico because he had “more important things” on his schedule.
