I would laugh out loud about the thought of the mayors of five large American cities demanding a meeting with the president over his border crisis but one of those mayors is my city’s mayor. Ugh.
The mayors of Denver, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston formed a coalition, led by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. The mayors say they need $5B in federal assistance to deal with illegal aliens. Johnston said that the federal government is getting in the way of allowing migrants to work. The mayors are likely in for a rude awakening. Biden will probably ignore their pleas for a meeting, as he has done for months individually. But, if he does meet with them, they’ll be in for a rude awakening. Biden doesn’t care about the southern border. He’s been abundantly clear about that in his neglect. He has only made one trip to the border and that was a sanitized area of El Paso. As long as he ignores it, it isn’t happening, right?
Just for the record, all of these cities are sanctuary cities, except Houston. Houston is not officially a sanctuary city, but, wink, wink, you know how it goes.
The mayors sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday. They explained that they are having to get by with very little help from his administration. The situation is so urgent that the mayors are planning to travel to Washington, D.C. for a crisis meeting in a few days. Good luck with that, y’all.
Johnston and the other mayors – the mayors of the four largest cities in America – have a problem with the fact that illegal aliens are not allowed to work in the United States. Coming to the United States for work is not a reason for asylum, though, and in a sane world, these migrants would have all been turned away and asylum denied. But, this is Biden’s America and we do not live in a sane world. Illegal immigrants are allowed to remain in the country and they go to whatever city they desire to make a life for themselves, as though they came here legally.
With fewer available work authorizations, these migrants cannot find work that would allow them to get into proper housing.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who is leading the coalition, told the Associated Press that nearly every conversation he has had with arriving migrants is the same: Can he help them find a job?
‘The crisis is we have folks here who desperately want to work. And we have employers here who desperately want to hire them. And we have a federal government that’s standing in the way of employers who want to hire employees who want to work,’ Johnston said.
The Biden border crisis has gotten so bad that even Democrats are pressuring the president to secure the southern border. Biden, running for re-election, has allegedly toughened rules at the border meant to curb illegal crossings. Work authorizations and incentives are offered to those who come into the country legally using the mobile app and applying ahead of time. They arrive into the country by plane.
Emilie Simons, deputy White House press secretary, said: ‘We’re committed to supporting local jurisdictions that are hosting migrants that have recently arrived into the country. We’re going to continue to deliver support every way that we can.’
The mayors want an expansion of authorizations so that anyone released into the U.S. would be eligible to find work. This is likely to create an even bigger crisis at the border because there is no reason not to illegally enter the U.S. In what other country are illegal aliens brought into the country, provided housing, food, medical care, education, and jobs though they broke the law to enter the country in the first place? There is no such country.
Another demand of the mayors is the creation of a regional migrant coordinator. That person would work with the federal government, nonprofits, and state and local officials, too. The goal would be better coordination between agencies and placing illegal aliens in areas where there is room for them. I don’t think more government bureaucracy is the answer but it is usually the default response from Democrats. ‘Mo government, ‘mo better. Nonetheless, the mayors want to make a show of coming to make their demands of the president heard.
“We believe we have a unique opportunity to work with the White House and Congress over these next few weeks to create an immigration and asylum system that will treat our newcomers with dignity and be fair and equitable to cities and neighborhoods across the country,” the mayors concluded.
“Given the urgency of this issue, we are all willing to travel to DC next week to sit down and discuss our shared interest in finding a successful resolution.”
Late Wednesday, Adams said he was heading to Washington with the other mayors to meet with federal lawmakers and the White House, though a City Hall spokesman declined to say who he would be meeting with from the Biden administration.
The last time Adams traveled to Washington to meet with officials of the administration, he was not given a meeting with Biden. Adams was only able to meet with administration officials who were non-committal about additional federal aid.
Adams grouses that New York City has done more than any other city to handle illegal aliens. He complains that New York taxpayers are picking up the tab. However, the problems in New York City are a drop in the bucket compared to the problems that face border states and local communities. Texas taxpayers, for example, have spent billions, with a B, of dollars to handle the ever-growing border crisis. Governor Abbott began his own initiative back in March 2021 to try to quell illegal immigration at the border when he realized that Biden has no interest in doing his job to secure the border. NYC is a newcomer to this battle. Welcome to the party, pal.
The Biden border crisis is putting a strain on some of Biden’s political relationships. Adams was a loyal surrogate for Biden’s re-election until the border crisis got real for his city. Now it is reported that their relationship is strained. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles is a former Democrat leader in the Congressional Black Caucus and loyal Biden supporter. She was rumored to be on Biden’s short list of vice presidential candidates in 2020 when he promised to choose a black woman. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is serving his last term and is a surrogate for the Biden re-election campaign. Joe Biden can’t afford to lose the support of black voters. All three of those mayors are black.
We’ll see what happens in the coming days. Will the mayors receive an invitation to meet with Biden at the White House? I’m skeptical but a presidential election is coming up and Biden is not doing well at all. He needs all the help he can get.
NEW: @AP obtained a letter sent to President Biden by the mayors of sanctuary cities LA, NYC, Chicago & Denver – requesting $5 billion instead of $1.4 billion to help w/ migrant crisis because “our city budgets & local taxpayers bear the brunt” of the crisis.
They apparently… pic.twitter.com/8UVZxNhDCS
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 2, 2023
*** UPDATE ***
It looks like the mayors will get their meeting with Biden. How about that? Biden must really be worried about his chances for re-election. – Karen
