Men, women and children who boarded the buses in El Paso poured into the bus terminal, many saying they came from Venezuela. “We stopped for food, but many people did not have cash to buy food. I’m so, so hungry,” said Gustavo Pacheco, 35, who was waiting for relatives from New Jersey to pick him up. Pacheco wore an American flag T-shirt that read “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” along with broken plastic sandals, his swollen feet covered in bug bites. He said it took a month to get from Venezuela to the US border and then a two-day bus ride to the Big Apple. Jan Romero, 35, also from Venezuela, said relatives in New York were coming to pick him up. He took off his sneakers to show how cut up his feet were after wading through a river for three days. “I’m excited for all the opportunities here,” Romero said. “I intend to work. I’m a very good car mechanic.” Another asylum seeker said he has no family in New York and doesn’t know why he’s here. Man helping a child off the bus at the Port Authority station. GNMiller/NYPost Many of the migrants said they came from Venezuela. GNMiller/NYPost Immigrants on an MTA bus to go to a homeless shelter. GNMiller/NYPost A young boy wearing a large backpack got off the bus with a big smile on his face and waved at the reporters. Power Maul, with the non-profit Artists Athletes Activists, lifted the boy off the bus and greeted the other immigrants. He said he wanted to let everyone know they are welcome in the Big Apple, but acknowledged the challenges. “We know we have a huge homeless problem here in New York as it is. Hopefully this will shine a light on an already broken shelter system,” Maul said. A group of immigrants arrive at the Bellevue Men’s homeless shelter in Manhattan. Kevin C. Downs for the New York Post The MTA is using some buses to help transport some of the newly arrived immigrants to shelters around the city. Kevin C. Downs for the New York Post A Venezuelan immigrant holds a note from a homeless shelter instructing him to go back to the Port Authority. Kevin C. Downs for the New York Post One man waved at the migrants, shouting: “There are many people who need help, who are sleeping on the streets. We don’t need any more people out here. Help the people here who are on the street here in New York.” He was quickly taken away by police officers.
Immigration crisis moves north: See what’s happening across the country as border states bus migrants into US
Some of the new arrivals were taken on an MTA bus to a shelter in the Bronx.
Migrants have been bused to New York by both El Paso officials – based on an apparent deal between the Democratic mayor and New York Mayor Adams – and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whom Adams has criticized. An estimated 8,000 migrants have flooded into the Big Apple in recent weeks.
The City-County of El Paso Office of Emergency Management has been sending chartered buses here since August 23rd. More than 1,000 migrants have flooded into El Paso since nonprofit shelters in the area filled up earlier this month, according to a report.
The El Paso City Council on Monday signed a $2 million contract with a charter bus company to move immigrants away faster, El Paso Matters reported.
