Statement of Mayor Michael Gonnelli
December 31, 2023
Yesterday morning the Secaucus Police Department and town officials received word from the Hudson County Executives’ Office that several busses transporting migrants in route for New York had arrived at the train station at Secaucus Junction. As of the writing of this release we believe it was a total of four (4) busses. The first bus arrived the morning of December 30th. From what we understand after being dropped at the train station the migrants then took trains to New York City.
The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, recently signed an Executive Order regulating how and when busses carrying migrants can enter the city and drop off passengers. These regulations, in part, require bus operators to advise the Commissioner of Emergency Management at least thirty-two (32) hours advanced notice before arriving and limit drop off times to weekdays only between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and noon. Violators are subject to fines and impounding of their bus.
“It seems quite clear the bus operators are finding a way to thwart the requirements of the Executive Order by dropping migrants at the train station in Secaucus and having them continue to their final destination”, stated Mayor Gonnelli. Perhaps the requirements Mayor Adams put in place are too stringent and are resulting in unexpected consequences as it seems the bus operators have figured out a loophole in the system in order to ensure the migrants reach their final destination, which is New York City. Based on reports from the State Police this is now happening at train stations throughout the state.
“I have been advised the State of New Jersey has a plan in place and we will be working closely with the Governor’s office, all law enforcement agencies, and the County to monitor this situation,” stated Mayor Gonnelli. At this point in time it seems train tickets are being secured for the migrants and they have been making their way to their final destination. “We will continue to monitor this situation closely,” stated Gonnelli.
