REAL TALK

FINANCIAL NEWS POLITICS

Mayors of Major U.S. Sanctuary Cities Seek Urgent $5 Billion Meeting with President Amidst Soaring Migrant Inflows – Can Biden’s $1.4 Billion Emergency Funding Suffice?

ByAlki David

Nov 4, 2023

In a remarkable move, the mayors of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Denver, all proudly championing the ‘sanctuary city’ label, have united in a plea to President Joe Biden. Their ask: a substantial $5 billion to navigate what they describe as an “overwhelming” surge in migrant arrivals. While Biden has already sought $1.4 billion in emergency supplemental funding, the mayors assert that without an extra financial injection, they might be forced to make cuts to “essential city services.”

In a direct appeal to the President, the mayors penned a letter urgently requesting a meeting. “To address this crisis without further delay, we are requesting an urgent meeting with you to directly discuss ways we can work with your administration to avoid large numbers of additional asylum seekers being brought to our cities with little to no coordination, support, or resources,” the mayors emphasized.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas provided a startling backdrop, revealing that a staggering 600,000 individuals entered the United States in fiscal year 2023 without being intercepted by Customs and Border Patrol. Another 900,000 were either intercepted or voluntarily turned themselves in to enter under humanitarian parole and pursue asylum applications.

This dramatic plea from sanctuary city mayors sheds light on the pressing challenges these cities face, not just in accommodating the influx but also in ensuring the provision of vital services. As the immigration debate intensifies, the real question remains: can Biden’s proposed $1.4 billion emergency funding truly address the magnitude of this complex and urgent situation?

Eric Adams, the mayor of U.S. sanctuary city New York City, with migrants.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.