Eric Adams’s constitutionally dubious busing lawsuit is a political sideshow

In the latest political battle over immigration, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is suing bus companies that transport migrants. 

The city filed a lawsuit last week against 17 bus lines, accusing them of illegally bringing migrants from the border under the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). He has been sending busloads of migrants to New York City since 2022, and now the city is seeking financial damages to cover the costs of caring for them. 

Adams said the lawsuit “should serve as a warning to all those who break the law in this way.” 

Really, Mayor Adams? 

This lawsuit is as flimsy as it is frivolous. Its premise is not supported by the Constitution or Supreme Court precedent. It is a legal sideshow, designed to deflect attention away from New York City’s mishandling of the migrant crisis. The only thing this lawsuit does is demonstrate that using migrants as political pawns is a bipartisan practice.  

New York City’s lawsuit is based on a state law that says “any person who knowingly brings … a needy person from out of state into this state for the purposes of making them a public charge” must bear the costs of supporting them. 

But this law is constitutionally questionable, as it interferes with bus companies’ right to interstate commerce, and migrants’ right to move freely around the country. Remember, the migrants riding from Texas to New York are doing so voluntarily. They have been processed by the federal government at the border and have the right to travel within the U.S. just like anyone else. Even Abbott recognizes this right.  

Not only has the Supreme Court made it clear that states cannot block interstate travel, it has also struck down a law very similar to New York’s statute. In 1941, the court found that a California law making it a misdemeanor to bring an indigent person into the state violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. A state cannot “[shut] its gates,” the court ruled, because the Constitution “was framed upon the theory that the peoples of the several States must sink or swim together.” 

In practical terms, it’s a leap for New York City to assert that the bus companies are bringing migrants from Texas “for the purposes of making them a public charge.” These companies are bringing migrants to New York because Texas paid for their transport. How bizarre is it that Adams is suing bus companies for … busing people? 

As evidence of “bad faith,” the lawsuit cites the fact that bus companies are receiving $1,650 per passenger on their charter buses, compared to tickets on scheduled buses that cost $291. That’s not bad faith, that’s capitalism. These fees are no more excessive than the whopping $708 million New York City claims to have spent caring for 33,000 migrants. 

Ironically, Adams’ lawsuit rests on the idea that migrants arriving on Abbott’s buses are destined to become “public charges.” Just a few years ago, during the Trump administration, New York was fighting the designation of migrants as “public charges.” The about-face here by the mayor is breathtaking. Besides, if bus companies were to inquire about the immigration or financial status of migrant passengers, it would be a violation of their civil rights.  

True, cities like New York are under financial and logistical strain due to the unprecedented influx of migrants. Yet if Adams wanted to take action, he could sue Gov. Abbott or the federal government. He could make a more effective case to the Biden administration that his city needs additional funding. Instead, he is going after bus companies who are simply conducting business. Such political bullying is unlikely to have any impact on New York City’s migrant problem.  

Then again, this lawsuit seems like an attempt to prop up Adams’s sagging popularity. According to Quinnipiac University polling, just 28 percent of NYC voters approve of the mayor’s job performance, a record low. Only 26 percent of New Yorkers approve of the mayor’s handling of the migrant issue. 

With this unserious lawsuit, Adams is doing what Democrats regularly accuse Republican lawmakers of doing — devising a political stunt around the immigration issue.   

New York City’s lawsuit against bus companies is cynical, hypocritical and legally dubious. Instead of coming up with a new scapegoat, Eric Adams should come up with meaningful strategies for addressing his city’s migrant crisis. 

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. Follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, Instagram: @raulareyes1.