Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, has blamed Mayor Eric Adams for the migrant crisis that has engulfed New York City since Spring 2022.
Sliwa argues that Adams’ mishandling of the issue and labeling Texas Governor Greg Abbott a “racist” paved the way for Abbott to start sending migrants to sanctuary cities.
Sliwa, who established the Guardian Angels in 1979 to patrol subways and streets, has seen the organization expand to 13 countries and 130 cities, maintaining a presence in NYC.
He ran against Eric Adams in the last mayoral election and, in an interview with New York Voice News, said that he plans to challenge him again.
New York City is currently grappling with nearly 200,000 illegal migrants, with the city covering the costs for approximately 60,000, including housing, food, healthcare, and legal services, due to its right-to-shelter mandate.
In the interview with New York Voice News, Sliwa explained that Abbott initially intended to send migrants only to Washington D.C., as Vice President Harris was supposedly in charge of border control issues.
Sliwa stated, “All of a sudden, Eric Adams decided to weigh in, and he called Abbott a racist for sending illegals north.”
He continued, “‘I’m going to send them to the sanctuary states, those blue states and those blue cities that say that they welcome migrants, illegal aliens.’ And so, Eric Adams inserts himself and Abbott says, okay, I’m going to send bus after bus to New York. And then Eric Adams doubled down and said, hey, we’ll take care of them from the cradle to the grave.”
Sliwa criticized the city for spending heavily on migrants while veterans and homeless New Yorkers struggle to find shelter.
He claimed, “They get to stay in Times Square, three-star hotels, culturally appropriate food, iPhones, smartphones, health insurance. Our own homeless, our own veterans don’t get those kinds of accommodations.”
Sliwa also alleged that many migrants coming from Venezuela are gang members and warned that the situation could worsen, as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has mentioned he won’t accept returned migrants.
In January 2024, Maduro’s administration stopped accepting flights of migrants deported from the United States and Mexico.
“In the case of the Venezuelans, they’re here in perpetuity. They ain’t going nowhere, even when they commit crime, even if we arrest them and they do time. Venezuela doesn’t want them back. We’re stuck with them,” Sliwa noted.
He emphasized that while sanctuary city status isn’t new, the level of facilities provided to migrants under Adams’ administration is unprecedented.
Sliwa called for New Yorkers to decide on the sanctuary city status, saying, “Put it on the ballot this November. Let the people of the five boroughs of the city of New York, registered voters, determine whether we stay a sanctuary city or we’re no longer a sanctuary city.”
Currently, the Charter Revision Commission is holding meetings to hear the public, and many New Yorkers are demanding a referendum to repeal the sanctuary status because sanctuary laws do not allow the NYPD, Department of Corrections, and the Department of Probations to communicate with federal immigration authorities and for them to hand over illegal migrants who commit crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Sliwa believes most New Yorkers would vote against it, given the chaos of the past two years.
He also criticized the opening of 200 shelters across the city, some near residential neighborhoods and schools.
Sliwa urged communities to fight back regardless of political views, citing Staten Island as an example where Democrats and Republicans are working together to oppose illegal migrant housing.
He encouraged residents to take a firm stand, even if it meant engaging in civil disobedience, stating, “This is not political. This is about quality of life. This is about our taxes.”
Critics have pointed out that many migrants haven’t been properly vetted, potentially allowing criminals to enter the country or individuals with serious diseases.
Accusing Democrats of seeking to register migrants as future voters, Sliwa said, “The Democrats want it that way. This way, they can stay in power in perpetuity. We won’t have two or more parties.”
On December 9, 2021, the City Council passed a non-citizen voting bill that would allow anyone who has been in the city for 30 days with work authorization to vote in the city’s municipal elections. The bill was not vetoed by Mayor Adams and became law. However, the courts deemed the non-citizen voting law illegal, but the City Council led by Adrienne Adams is appealing the decision.
Regarding the City Council’s Advice and Consent bill, which would expand its powers to approve mayoral appointments, Sliwa criticized the move, saying it would make the Speaker more powerful than the Mayor in NYC affairs.
He remarked, “They want to take away other mayoral responsibilities of appointing commissioners. They want to render whoever the mayor is, man or woman, impotent. Basically, you’re like a ribbon cutter.”
He continued, “That has to be stopped. Eric Adams put the Charter Reform Commission into effect and ordered them to move rapidly. He better be ready to get into the gladiator pit and go to war against Adrianne Adams, who oftentimes he has been afraid to take on.”
Sliwa emphasized that people are losing interest in politics because they don’t see elected officials addressing their issues.
He encouraged New Yorkers to attend the Charter Revision Commission meetings in person or via Zoom or email to ask them to have the sanctuary city status referendum on the ballot and urged them to vote in the referendum and have their views expressed no matter which way they are voting.
