Secaucus mayor says more than 1,000 immigrants bused to New Jersey over weekend

(CNN) — This weekend, 23 buses carrying more than a thousand immigrants arrived in New Jersey, Secaucus Mayor Michael Connelly said Wednesday.

“The buses carried a total of 1,017 migrants, 953 of whom boarded trains bound for New York,” Connelly said in the statement. “The remaining 64 traveled elsewhere.”

Eleven of those buses arrived at the Secaucus Junction train station, Connelly said.

Sending immigrants and asylum seekers to destinations outside of New York City is a way to avoid New York City's most recent executive order, which requires bus companies to notify city officials at least 32 hours before your arrival in New York City and provide your passengers. ' reveals.

A spokesman for New York City Mayor Eric Adams told CNN on Wednesday that the mayor and his staff have continued to reach out to local municipalities to encourage them to take similar administrative measures.

The order was in response to Texas and other states sending thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers to New York City. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, has sent more than 22,600 immigrants to the Texas city since August 2022.

Connelly said he “works with law enforcement officials at all levels, as well as county and state officials.” “So far, most migrants have continued to their final destination in New York, and I don't see any impact on our local services.”

“I made it clear to those on the call that the city of Secaucus cannot bear the brunt of this situation and emphasized the importance of open communication and collaboration with our county and state partners,” Connelly said.

Secaucus is located less than 10 miles from the Port Authority of New York City.

An executive order is not “counterproductive.”

New York's mayor said Tuesday that his executive order was “not counterintuitive” after hearing that busloads of immigrants had been unloaded at New Jersey train stations in an attempt to avoid new rules aimed at limiting mass arrivals.

“We talked to our colleagues in Chicago, and they told us this is what Governor Abbott did in Chicago. He started dropping people off miles away and telling them, 'You're in Chicago,'” Adams said at a news conference Tuesday.

Vice Mayor Fabian Levy said New York City was in contact with New Jersey and New York state officials before the executive order was issued, especially since New York City officials knew what Gov. Greg Abbott had done in Chicago, “so we wanted to do it. Of course it didn't happen.”

“Since we issued that executive order, not one Texas bus has come into compliance,” Levy said.

Adams' senior adviser Lisa Zornberg said Tuesday that since that executive order was issued, “no Texas bus has been in compliance. None.”

“What you're seeing now are the same Texas buses that were paid for by the state of Texas that used to drop off at Port Authority and now drop off at the New Jersey and Trenton train stations in Secaucus and other places in Jersey. And they're said to be offering one-way tickets from those train stations to Penn Station,” Zornberg said. .

“Our goal is not to use any of these confusing tactics on incoming migrants. We will continue to be courteous and humane. This is a humanitarian crisis,” Zornberg said.

Adams and his team said they are exploring all options for working through the crisis, including a meeting with New Jersey Gov. Bill Murphy. Adams did not give a date or time for the meeting with Murphy.

“It's not just New York, any city should go through this, it's not sustainable,” Adams said.

Adams said he would meet with other mayors in Washington in the coming weeks to work on the issue.

— From CNN's Michelle Watson and Mark Morales.