> “If this humanitarian crisis was simply a right to shelter issue, then only New York City would bear the responsibility for providing for these individuals,” he wrote. “But, as we have made clear for months, and as the Legal Aid even said today, the federal government has an obligation here, as does the state.”

Even if one dislikes Adams, it’s worth noting that what he’s doing with these public statements is publicly campaigning for more federal funds.

And no matter how you vote, campaigning for federal funds is basically our only option as no mayor controls the national border and the state can’t impede the flow of people between states. And we can’t print our own money.

I’m not a fan - to put it mildly - of DeSantis or Abbott, but the “let’s ship immigrants to sanctuary cities” play is clever in that it forces the mayors of the “other side” to also put pressure on the federal government for a tighter southern border. And at a minimum, governors like Hochul and Pritzker have to quietly go along as they can’t or don’t want to have to bail out the cities via the state budget.