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Migrant crisis causes local officials to change tune from rolling out the welcome mats

Governors and mayors across the nation have changed their tune as the impact of the influx of immigration continues to spread throughout different states.

Less than halfway through the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. population has increased by more than 1.3 million undocumented migrants - and as the crisis continues to change, so has the tone of local sanctuary city officials. 

Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Miriam Bowser made a speech welcoming migrants, claiming that illegal immigration was something to celebrate during the summer of 2019. About three years and thousands of migrants later, she was marching to the beat of a different drum as the city’s capability to take in more people began to dwindle.

"We're not a border town. We don't have an infrastructure to handle this type of a level of immigration to our city. But we will create a new normal here in our infrastructure and have a humane welcome for people and an efficient service provision. But we don't have the ability, we’re not Texas," Bowser told Fox 5 DC in 2022.

As Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants out of the Lone Star State to self-deemed sanctuary cities, the frustration of local officials overwhelmed by the migrant population grew.

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District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference Nov. 9, 2022, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

While New York City has had a surge of 185,000 arrivals since 2022, Mayor Eric Adams’ tone shifted from stating that he is "proud that this is a right-to-shelter state," to claiming that the Big Apple's right-to-shelter laws, social services and values "are being exploited by others for political gain."

"Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City," Adams said last September, before record-high migrant numbers were reported later that winter.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed the sentiment. In December 2021, she said, "We want people to come here despite where they came from or despite the circumstances that drove them to this country." 

Less than two years later, she told CNN, "If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else."

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Getty Images)

Democratic Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg took to Facebook to speak out against Trump administration immigration policies in 2018, saying, "The ICE director said clearly a week ago, that for cities that deem themselves as sanctuary cities, that there will be collateral arrests, and here is our city’s response to that threat: We will not cower, we will not retreat. We will do everything in our power to stand up for and protect Dreamers, hardworking families, immigrants - people who are just doing their best to work, to learn and to have a part of the Sacramento and the California dream."

Four years later, he expressed concerns over the California capital's capacity for providing sanctuary.

"Cities are not homeless service agencies. Cities are not Health and Human services agencies. All of the mental health money, all the substance abuse money flows through the counties … In my city we have gone from a couple hundred shelter beds [to] now 1,100 every night … Cities don't have the ongoing funding on the Health and Human services side to do this work," he said.

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A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the US illegally rush a border wall Thursday, March 21, 2024.  (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

While the effects of the border crisis continue to ripple throughout the country, sanctuary cities have had to enforce varied control measures, from maximum-stay deadlines at shelters to asking local homeowners to house some of their "newcomers", as the city of Denver did last month. 

Colorado citizens have become discouraged with local officials and their approach to the growing number of migrants, so much so that one county recently sued Colorado over its sanctuary city immigration policies. 

Douglas County Board of County Commissioners Chairman, Republican George Teal, said in a press conference, "It is our intent to bring suit specifically to address the illegal immigration crisis now present in this country. Federal policies along the southern border have resulted in an unlimited stream of illegal immigrants into our communities."

He added the state’s policies were "a violation of several tenets of the Colorado State Constitution."

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Local officials of sanctuary cities change their tone regarding the migrant crisis.