Andrew Cuomo demands Washington pay for migrant crisis and stop 'urban death spiral'

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As New York City continues to struggle with a surge in migrants, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo argued in a recent op-ed that the federal government should reallocate migrants to different states.

Cuomo's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, headlined, "The Migrant Crisis and the Urban Death Spiral," wrote that the "tipping point" for some cities that have already been struggling with "[r]ising homelessness, crime and high taxes" is the "migrant crisis." 

"As an example, New York’s Mayor Eric Adams announced a massive budget deficit caused largely by an estimated $10 billion migrant cost," Cuomo wrote. "The deficit requires a reduction in city services, even police and sanitation. This at a time when the No. 1 issue is crime and quality of life. It’s a death spiral."

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As New York City continues to struggle with a surge in migrants, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo argued that cities shouldn't have to "should the costs" of illegal immigration when the "federal government sets immigration policy" in a recent op-ed.  (Getty Images)

The former governor of New York claimed that it was "absurd" for cities to be forced "to shoulder the operational burden and financial cost of managing the migrant population." 

"There is no legal, moral or practical explanation," he continued. "Congress writes the immigration laws, and the federal executive branch sets policy. It has created this crisis. To ignore the consequences is a total abrogation of Washington’s responsibility."

Cuomo then called on the federal government to start "managing the new asylum seekers on a national level, locating them in states to serve local needs as well as those of the migrants." 

"The federal government should allocate the migrant population equitably and intelligently by state," Cuomo wrote. "Migrants can be an asset to the country, providing a low-wage workforce many businesses need. Smaller and depopulated cities could use new residents."

Cuomo's request that the government move migrants to different states in the country comes as New York City Mayor Eric Adams continues to ask President Biden and Washington, D.C. for assistance in the ongoing migrant crisis. New York City has seen more than 140,000 migrants enter the city since last year, which has left the city’s social services overwhelmed and forced deep budget cuts to policing, sanitation and education.

The migrant crisis has plagued the mayor for more than a year and, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, Adams' approval rating sits at 28% among self-identified registered voters. The rating is the lowest Quinnipiac has ever recorded for a New York City mayor since it began tracking the statistic in 1996. 

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Adams' approval rating sits at 28% among self-identified registered voters. The rating is the lowest Quinnipiac has ever recorded for a New York City mayor since it began tracking the statistic in 1996.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

On a national level, the Biden administration has told lawmakers that an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants are currently being released into the U.S. each day at the border, while there were over 670,000 illegal immigrants who evaded Border Patrol last fiscal year, Fox News has learned.

Adams's office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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Fox News' Alexander Hall, Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.