New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced a lawsuit against 17 bus and transportation companies helping to send asylum-seekers to the city as it deals with major budget issues surrounding the crisis.
The city is seeking $708 million in the lawsuit to cover costs for caring for migrants.
“New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone,” Adams said in a statement. "Today, we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas Governor [Greg] Abbott’s scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system.
He continued, “These companies have violated state law by not paying the cost of caring for these migrants, and that’s why we are suing to recoup approximately $700 million already spent to care for migrants sent here in the last two years by Texas.”
Fuck this noise.
Where are the Human Trafficking charges for Abbot & DeSantis?
Where are the criminal indictments DoJ?
Fucking with rich people’s money is usually the fastest way to make them leash their dogs. If Abbot keeps fucking with rich fuckers money maybe they will jail him, but I do agree a justice system would be nice to have here in USA.
That’s a hard ask because they can pretty easily say that it was all actions taken in the completion of their duties. That’s what qualified immunity is actually for–to prevent every person from suing every elected official over anything they don’t like. In reality, it’s changing voting patterns that make up the solution here.
Why don’t they sue Texas?
Short answer is that it is always much easier to (successfully) sue a private party than a government entity. Also probably to deter the private companies from participating in human trafficking.
The latter is the big one.
Defending this lawsuit will cost them more money than they made bussing migrants, even if they win.
Which will make all of them think twice about doing it - or at the very least charge Texas much, much more money.
Part of it may also be to send a message. Texas isn’t going to stop, but transportation companies might be deterred knowing NYC will drag them through court if they participate in these crimes. Even if they are sure they will win in the end, getting involved in years long litigation over a controversial issue is not good for business.
I’d guess that the hope is to scare charter bus companies away from working with Abbott; it’s probably a lot easier to do that than to stop Abbott from sending people.
And companies use their money to defend themselves / pay fines, Abbot uses taxpayers money, so he doesn’t care one bit.
States using states is hard, winds up immediately in the Supreme Court and they can’t really use their own state laws against each other basically. In this case NY can hold the bus companies over the fire of NY state law.
Also, New York City isn’t a state.
True enough, to even sue I think they may need to essentially get NY state on board with it as well.
Nah, X vs State is as valid as State Vs. X, for jurisdiction.
Like others have said though, other states don’t really have to follow your city laws, so it’s much easier to get the companies that do have to.
The SCOTUS does have original jurisdiction over interstate lawsuits of this sort, but Congress has also set up district and circuit courts to take up the slack before SCOTUS has to touch it–they process the cases first and then it goes up to the SCOTUS if there is a particularly impactful or unresolved question to decide.
Because they can’t scare Texas but they can scare bus companies. Why wouldn’t they take the effective way?
In a move to equally piss off environmentalists, Greg Abbot is now contracting with Uber to drive 700 cars full of migrants per day to New Jersey…
Ok, but isn’t Texas paying for the tickets? I mean I’m sure the bus companies aren’t bussing people 3/4 the way across the country for free and those migrants aren’t likely to be able to afford a cross-country bus ticket.
So the bus companies are just accepting a fare and doing the services they were paid for, why should it be up to a private company to ensure citizenship before letting people on the bus?
It’s just ridiculous that Abbott is the one doing all of this and Private companies will pay the price, can we at least once let a politician pay the price for the shitty things they’ve done instead passing the blame elsewhere?Are you honestly suggesting that the bus companies might be unaware of what they’re doing? That seems preposterous to me. Greg Abbott isn’t walking up to the ticket window purchasing two tickets to NYC, these busses are specifically chartered for this purpose.
That would be a preposterous claim. We all know Abbott can’t walk.
He can walk. He chooses not to. Typical welfare queen feigning a medical issue.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find out that Abbot is friends with people who are financially invested in these bus companies.
I’m suggesting Greg Abbott should also pay some kind of price because he’s financing the whole deal.
I’m honestly kind of shocked so many people don’t seem to think this is his problem at all. Why should the bus companies pay ALL of the price when Abbott is behind the whole thing. But fuck it, I’m wrong and Abbott did nothing wrong I guess 🤷♂️He probably should but it’s much harder to make him pay a price, especially for NY to do.
The bus lines can sue Abbott or Texas then. The buses know what they are doing and have done, they aren’t innocent fodder in this, they are accessories. Play stupid games, win stupid fines.
HE ain’t paying shit. The taxpayers of Texas should take it out of his ass, even if he can’t feel it.
There’s a comment above about this: I’m sure New York City (or any other city, really) would love to sue Abbot. But suing a state would be much harder, and probably much lengthier. If there’s even the threat of a lawsuit, most bus companies would at least think twice about accepting the job.
The companies are participating in human trafficking for profit.
They and their co-conspirators in TX government are jointly and severally liable.
Both should be sued for money. The Texas politicians should be criminally charged as well.
If NYC sues Texas and gets Abbot to stop, he’ll keep trafficking migrants to Chicago. If NYC sues bus companies and gets them to stop enabling this stunt, it will stop fir all such stunts
