Cuomo blames Biden administration for NYC’s migrant crisis: ‘A federal responsibility’
In one his few public appearances since resigning in disgrace, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday night bashed the federal and state government’s response to New York City’s migrant crisis — and warned the issue is “going to hurt” Democrats politically.
Cuomo — who left office in August 2021 amid sexual misconduct accusations that he denies — received a warm welcome from a packed house at the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in Brooklyn, where he gave a nearly one-hour speech that centered on the government’s handling of immigration.
“This was a federal responsibility, period. First and foremost. Not the state, not the city. Immigration law is a federal responsibility,” Cuomo said.
The ex-governor said if he was in office, he’d march down to Washington and demand President Biden “take hold of this.”
“How do we get to a place where governor Abbot of Texas is deciding where hundreds of thousands of migrants go around this nation is laughable,” said Cuomo.
“This is a function for the federal government to manage, and make every city, every state do its fair share,” he continued.
And the federal government, he added, should “pay the bill for the cost of the migrants and don’t ask the taxpayers of any city to pick up the bill.”
Cuomo said New York state also needs to help with the crisis in the Big Apple, which has been forced to make major spending cuts across city departments as about 10,000 new migrants keep arriving each week.
“Mayor [Eric] Adams is right — it is unsustainable for New York City to carry this burden. There is no legal, ethical, financial, practical way that you can ask New York City to do this. They don’t have the financing.”
Cuomo said if he was in office, he’d start a work program for the new migrants even without federal permission instead of forcing New York communities to accept an influx of people they aren’t prepared for.
“Let them work,” he told the audience. “Let them pay their way, and once you say they can work, there are a lot of places in this state that need low-wage workers and it’s a totally different story than telling a county ‘you’re going to take them and you’re going to pay for them.’”
The former governor warned that the issue is going to be a headache for the Democratic party going forward since no one in the party has stepped up to seriously address the crisis.
“It’s going to hurt us,” Cuomo said.
“I’ll tell you what Donald Trump is going to say in four words: ‘I told you so.’
When asked what he plans to do next, Cuomo declined to say if he’d reenter the political arena, but joked he’s “still a cool dude in a loose mood, so I’m going to keep all my options open.”
