New York gets a taste of what Texas deals with on illegal immigration — and does not like it

What started as some next-level political trolling by Gov. Greg Abbott has turned into a most effective message on illegal immigration.

The fact that it comes from two of America’s most Democratic cities is a bonus.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is angry at Abbott for expanding the Texas shuttle service for migrants released into the U.S. For a while, the governor was offering trips only to Washington, to send a message to the federal government. Now, the Big Apple is on the itinerary, too, and Adams thinks it’s “horrific.”

Adams’ administration has turned to the federal government for help, complaining that it lacks shelter space for the migrants and needs extra funding for strains on education and healthcare systems.

“They frankly need a lot of support,” Manuel Castro, who leads Adams’ immigration-affairs office, told CNN. “They’ve traveled a long way to get here.”

Ya think? That’s what Texas has been telling the federal government for 20 years. Except here, it’s been millions of arrivals over the years and an absolute deluge since President Joe Biden took office. Many factors contribute to illegal immigration rates. But Biden campaigned on reversing Trump-era policies, and whether he was right to do so or not, it sent a signal to millions that it was time to head to the U.S.

Adams is crying uncle after a relative handful hit his city, as did Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington. The two Democrats have validated every complaint Abbott and predecessor Rick Perry lodged about federal failure at the border.

It’s especially rich that New York (the city and the state) have “sanctuary” policies, meaning they limit cooperation with federal authorities enforcing immigration laws. A tiny taste of the real effect of those policies is apparently much more bitter than they thought.

Adams even threatened to bring buses full of New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against Abbott. Leaving aside the tactical preposterousness of Yankees trying to persuade Texans how to vote, Adams was also quickly reminded how many New Yorkers are already fleeing its tax-and-regulatory misery for Texas and other rational states.

Abbott couldn’t have been sure that Adams and Bowser would react the way they did. But getting your opponents to make your political point for you is devastatingly effective — much more so than the steps that some of the governor’s Republican colleagues are urging him to take.

Hard-line conservatives want Abbott to declare that illegal immigration into Texas is an “invasion,” thereby authorizing (they contend) state action to actually deport people. Such a step would set up, at best, an expensive legal battle with the federal government. Worse, it could lead to literal clashes between federal and state law enforcement. Nor does Texas need to risk conflict with Mexico.

And politically, it would make Texas the villain, the meanie stepping in where it doesn’t belong and grabbing people without authority. Adams suggests that’s what’s happening now, but the bus trips are voluntary, and some passengers have been eager to go.

Many need immediate support, though, and the burden falls to local communities and charities. During the Biden administration, already-irrational U.S. immigration policy has become a free-for-all for migrants and the smugglers who prey on them. The administration has slashed deportations, even as illegal border-crossings rise dramatically.

Ending Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum-seekers means many will be admitted to the U.S. and live here for years before their cases are resolved, if they even show up for hearings. More than 2 million people have been released into the country in the president’s short time in office. It’s unsustainable.

Texas and much of the country badly needs a rational system for importing workers. For decades, we welcomed Mexican immigrants in particular, and the benefits of their hard work in industries such as construction largely outweighed the cost, particularly when you factored in the contributions of their American-born children.

But there has to be a limit, and not just for the sake of U.S. communities. The immigrants themselves risk rape, robbery and death to get here, and without systems to accommodate them, they fall into the shadows of uncertain status. A secure border, a rational system for deciding who gets in and under what status, and fair treatment for those already here — especially the ones brought here so young they are American in every way but one — have to come first.

Republicans and Democrats alike have resisted and refused to compromise. For anything to change, the people who stubbornly insist that “compassion” calls for unlimited immigration must see the consequences of their beliefs.

Eric Adams was one. Kudos to Abbott for showing him the light.