Adams administration suit vs. bus companies that shipped migrants to NYC dismissed

The Adams administration’s $700 cardinal lawsuit against autobus companies that brought migrants up from the confederate borderline was dismissed Friday, a justice decided, penning the lawsuit was based connected an “antiquated” and “unconstitutional” law.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado wrote successful the six-page determination that the statute is “sweepingly overbroad” — and told the metropolis to take it up with nationalist lawmakers. 

“Instead of seeking solution successful Congress, the [administration] asks this tribunal to enforce an antiquated, unconstitutional statute to infringe connected an individual’s close to participate New York based connected economical status,” Rosado said, adding that, if enforced, the law would adjacent telephone into question interstate travel. 

Adams spokeswoman Liz Garcia said the metropolis is reviewing its ineligible options “to code the costs shifted to New York City arsenic a effect the Texas busing scheme.”

The suit, filed successful January, alleged that 17 charter autobus companies violated the state’s Social Services Law arsenic portion of a program by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to autobus much than 30,000 migrants since 2022 to the Big Apple with nary coordination with metropolis officials.

The city’s lawyers said the autobus operators beryllium the metropolis $708 cardinal that was spent connected providing food, structure and healthcare to the migrants.

Mayor Eric Adams. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)

The instrumentality holds that it is amerciable to bring idiosyncratic into the authorities “for the intent of making him a nationalist charge” and is based connected a 19th-century “pauper’s law.”

Gov. Abbott’s bureau did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. When the suit was filed, Abbott said Adams’ admin should beryllium sanctioned by the tribunal for the “baseless” case. 

“It’s wide that Mayor Adams knows thing astir the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, oregon astir the law close to question that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Abbott said successful a connection successful January.

The Texas politician began sending migrants to New York and different wide cities astatine the opening of the asylum seeker crisis successful 2022 to enactment unit connected Democratic leaders.

Dozens of migrant families are seen arriving from Texas astatine the Port Authority Bus Terminal connected September 6, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)

Mark Levine, pb lawyer for 16 of the autobus companies, slammed the statue arsenic “extraordinarily offensive,” pointing retired that his ineligible squad could not find a azygous lawsuit wherever the instrumentality had been enforced. 

“It got dug up for the intent of this governmental suit against a governmental enactment by the politician of Texas,” Levine said successful an interview.

“The dismissal marks a measurement toward a affirmative aboriginal and distant from antiquated and discriminatory laws that should person agelong been removed from the books,” attorneys for Roadrunner Charters, the 17th autobus company, said successful a statement.

The justice had previously denied ​​the city’s petition for a preliminary injunction against Abbott’s autobus convoys, calling the lawsuit “dubious astatine best.”

“With this decision, the tribunal rightly rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ cruel and morally repugnant attempts to barroom immigrants from traveling to and making a location successful New York City,” said Beth Haroules, elder unit lawyer astatine the New York Civil Liberties Union, said successful a statement. The NYCLU filed a little successful the case.

City Hall officials said Friday that the medication hasn’t seen immoderate buses chartered by the suspect companies get successful New York since June.