Abbott vs Adams migrant feud rages on after invite to sleep at NY migrant shelter: 'Gimmicks'

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called New York City Mayor Eric Adams' rhetoric against bussing migrants to the Big Apple, and his invitation to stay at a shelter, "gimmicks."

Gov. Greg Abbott joins "Fox News Sunday." (FOX NEWS )

"I'm not quite sure why he's here and what he's doing while here, but he's going to see how you can manage the crisis with the coordination of not one child of families sleeping on the streets of the city of New York," Adams continued. "When we coordinate together, we should not displace problems to local municipalities. That is not what executives do. It is unfortunate that he made the decision to do that."

Roughly 180,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since 2022, after Abbott began bussing migrants in his state to liberal-leaning cities with sanctuary city laws on the books. The move has spurred Adams to previously claim Abbott is "morally bankrupt," including in May of last year, and he has also said the Republican governor is using "migrants as political pawns."

Single migrant men congregate in Tompkins Square Park as volunteers give away food and clothing, Jan. 27, 2024, in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Fox News' Martha Maccallum weighed in Sunday that "because of comments like that," Adams has called Abbott "morally bankrupt and that you're using these individuals as political pawns," and asked the Republican governor to respond. 

NEW YORK CITY BEGINS GIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PREPAID DEBIT CARDS AS PART OF $53 MILLION PILOT PROGRAM

"The person who is actually using illegal immigrants as political pawns is Joe Biden. Joe Biden has created this open border policy that has allowed illegal immigrants into our country to appeal to and to appease the far-leftist in the Democrat party… while at the same time destroying the country that he's in charge of. He is the commander in chief in charge of national security for our country. Our country is being invaded in ways that put our country at risk because of the political games that Joe Biden has played," he said. 

President Biden promotes his economic agenda in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 18, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

"He needs to stop talking boldly about illegal immigration and the migrants that Texas is sending there. And he needs to step up and do his own job, because look at the dangers in New York City under his watch. You have a police officer who was killed. You have the train system in New York, which is treacherous for travelers. You got police officers attacked in Times Square by illegal immigrants," he said, before calling on the mayor to stop promoting political "gimmicks."

TEXAS GOV ABBOTT TRAVELS TO SANCTUARY CITY TO SAY HE WON'T STOP BUSSING IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Abbott championed that illegal immigration "has gone down 72%" in Texas due to the state's "resistance" to the Biden administration's border policies, while other states sitting across from Mexico have seen illegal immigration continue to tick up. The state is in the middle of a legal battle to allow state police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally.

Migrants wade through the Rio Grande toward Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 27, 2023. (Benjamin Lowy for Fox News Digital )

A federal appeals court heard opening arguments last week regarding whether a lower court correctly blocked the law, known as SB4, from staying in effect. 

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"We feel pretty good about this SB4, which is a law that authorizes Texas to make arrests. I feel good about us winning for this very simple reason: What Texas is doing is not in conflict with the laws of the United States of America. They are consistent and uphold the laws of the United States of America. There are laws on the books, passed by Congress, that require the president and the country to deny illegal entry, to detain anybody who comes into the country illegally and to build border barriers. While Joe Biden has abandoned that responsibility, Texas has embraced that duty," he said. 

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