NEW YORK, NY - The legal battle launched by New York City Mayor Eric Adams against 17 Texas-based charter bus companies for busing illegal immigrants into the city from Texas has come to an end with the New York Supreme Court throwing out the $700 million lawsuit.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado, who refused to grant a preliminary injunction against the bus lines and deemed the city's case "dubious at best," struck down the lawsuit as "unconstitutional" in a Monday ruling.
According to The New York Post, the lawsuit was primarily predicated on a statute from the 1800s known as a "pauper's statute," which was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court over 80 years ago in Edwards v. California (1941). The suit, as previously reported by Law Enforcement Today, sought to stop the bussing of the "tens of thousands" of illegal immigrants who have flooded the so-called "sanctuary city." Additionally, it sought to recoup the cost of housing and feeding them from the bus lines.
Speaking to the press at the time, Adams said the city had "reached a breaking point. He said, "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."
Rosado, however, concluded that the case was "essentially identical" to the SCOTUS precedent and ruled it unconstitutional. “The mass migration of people within the country, which the commissioner seeks to chill or prevent, is an issue reserved by the Constitution for Congress, lest the United States fall to a regime of Balkanization with each state setting fort[h] a patchwork of inconsistent criteria for crossing state lines,” Rosado said.
Judge Rosado found in her ruling, “This is a plain attempt to regulate the transportation of indigent persons from State to State in violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause. The Court finds that it cannot grant the Commissioner’s request for injunctive relief as the merits of her claim are dubious at best given myriad constitutional concerns."
As reported by The Texas Scorecard, nine of the bus lines agreed to stop transporting the illegal immigrants as part of Governor Greg Abbott's "Operation Lone Star."
Abbott posted regarding the decision to X, hailing it as a victory for Texas. He wrote, “Another WIN! The New York Supreme Court REJECTED Mayor Adams’ attempt to block Texas from busing migrants to his sanctuary city.”
Despite the ruling, Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel to the mayor and City Hall, defended the action, telling reporters, "Notwithstanding the court's ruling, the fact that we brought the lawsuit, for a period of January until now, had the effect of at least half of those bus companies stopped transporting individuals at Texas' direction to New York City and was helpful to our management of the situation overall."
As noted by CBS News, the New York Civil Liberties Union argued before the court that the lawsuit by City Hall was unconstitutional, the court agreed and rejected the case. Zornberg said the city will respect the decision.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado, who refused to grant a preliminary injunction against the bus lines and deemed the city's case "dubious at best," struck down the lawsuit as "unconstitutional" in a Monday ruling.
According to The New York Post, the lawsuit was primarily predicated on a statute from the 1800s known as a "pauper's statute," which was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court over 80 years ago in Edwards v. California (1941). The suit, as previously reported by Law Enforcement Today, sought to stop the bussing of the "tens of thousands" of illegal immigrants who have flooded the so-called "sanctuary city." Additionally, it sought to recoup the cost of housing and feeding them from the bus lines.
Speaking to the press at the time, Adams said the city had "reached a breaking point. He said, "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."
NY Mayor Eric Adams on the migrant crisis: “For many months we were able to keep visualization of this crisis from hitting our streets… But we have reached a breaking point. We are no longer able to do that.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 28, 2023
pic.twitter.com/UX9LGsEYhj
Rosado, however, concluded that the case was "essentially identical" to the SCOTUS precedent and ruled it unconstitutional. “The mass migration of people within the country, which the commissioner seeks to chill or prevent, is an issue reserved by the Constitution for Congress, lest the United States fall to a regime of Balkanization with each state setting fort[h] a patchwork of inconsistent criteria for crossing state lines,” Rosado said.
Judge Rosado found in her ruling, “This is a plain attempt to regulate the transportation of indigent persons from State to State in violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause. The Court finds that it cannot grant the Commissioner’s request for injunctive relief as the merits of her claim are dubious at best given myriad constitutional concerns."
As reported by The Texas Scorecard, nine of the bus lines agreed to stop transporting the illegal immigrants as part of Governor Greg Abbott's "Operation Lone Star."
Another WIN!
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 31, 2024
The New York Supreme Court REJECTED Mayor Adams’ attempt to block Texas from busing migrants to his sanctuary city.
Until the Biden-Harris Administration secures the border, Texas will continue to send migrants to sanctuary cities. https://t.co/8kfMeaJXWe
Abbott posted regarding the decision to X, hailing it as a victory for Texas. He wrote, “Another WIN! The New York Supreme Court REJECTED Mayor Adams’ attempt to block Texas from busing migrants to his sanctuary city.”
Despite the ruling, Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel to the mayor and City Hall, defended the action, telling reporters, "Notwithstanding the court's ruling, the fact that we brought the lawsuit, for a period of January until now, had the effect of at least half of those bus companies stopped transporting individuals at Texas' direction to New York City and was helpful to our management of the situation overall."
As noted by CBS News, the New York Civil Liberties Union argued before the court that the lawsuit by City Hall was unconstitutional, the court agreed and rejected the case. Zornberg said the city will respect the decision.
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Comments
2024-08-04T07:41-0400 | Comment by: Raconteur
---They that come into our country illegally, are not illegal immigrants, undocumented immigrants, or “immigrants” of any type. They are by U.S. law “aliens”, illegally in the country. To name them “immigrants” is to confer on them a quasi-legal status that they have neither earned, deserve, or is allowed in U.S. law. Stop using the leftist, open border, propaganda terms.
2024-08-04T08:54-0400 | Comment by: arthur
Well, lets try something different then...when a bus comes in full of illegals, and lets call a spade a spade, arrest the driver for facilitating the transport of illegal aliens and the interstate transport there of, and confiscate the bus. Then fly them right back to Abbott, and see how he likes that. And N.Y. has a new bus, and flying them back would be a lot cheaper then housing and feeding them, much less dealing with the crime they would have to deal with in their city on account of keeping them there.
2024-08-05T10:56-0400 | Comment by: Mark
@Arthur is too ignorant to realize it is he and his other demonRats in the WH and Washington that are the problem, Not Texas. Why should Texas have to foot all the bill because they want to break our laws and keep the border open for their expected new voters.
2024-08-08T08:36-0400 | Comment by: Mark
Stop housing, feeding and educating them. They're here illegally and they don't deserve tax payer dollars to support them. Send them all back. There's a path to citizenship if they want it. Additionally, fine and prosecute companies who hire them. Make it so unwelcoming to be here that they go back where they've come from.
2024-08-08T08:42-0400 | Comment by: Mark
Stop housing, feeding and educating them. They're here illegally and they don't deserve tax payer dollars to support them. Send them all back. There's a path to citizenship if they want it. Additionally, fine and prosecute companies who hire them. Make it so unwelcoming to be here that they go back where they've come from.