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Onondaga County sues NYC over alleged plan to send migrants to the county

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon makes an announcement regarding the county's response to a potential influx of migrants as federal policy changes, May 11.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon makes an announcement regarding the county's response to a potential influx of migrants as federal policy changes, May 11.

Onondaga County filed a lawsuit Monday against New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, the NYC Commissioner of Social Services and Candlewood Suites over a violation of the county's emergency order barring migrants.

This comes after Town of Salina supervisor Nick Paro said he was contacted by Mayor Adams' office about a plan to send a bus of migrants to the Candlewood Suites in Salina. Paro directed the town attorney to file a restraining order against New York City.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon declared an emergency order last week which prohibits any entity in the county from transporting or housing migrants without written permission from the county.

McMahon was asked about how his emergency order would stand up in court during a press conference last week.

"The courts would work those things out," McMahon said. "I do know that Rockland County and Orange County have had successful appearances in court over the last week related to this issue down there. I know in Orange County they received 170 migrants from New York City. They went to court. The court ruled in favor of Orange County. New York City had seven more buses coming into that community and they had to turn that around."

Now, Onondaga County is taking New York City to court. County representatives said the petition alleges New York City is knowingly violating the emergency order by "seeking to exercise its own local emergency powers outside of its jurisdictional bounds."

The county has filed a temporary restraining order to prevent New York City's alleged plan of transporting migrants to the county this week and in the future.

This is a developing story. A request for comment was sent to Mayor Adams' office.

Ava Pukatch joined the WRVO news team in September 2022. She previously reported for WCHL in Chapel Hill, NC and earned a degree in Journalism and Media from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, Ava was a Stembler Scholar and a reporter and producer for the award-winning UNC Hussman broadcast Carolina Connection. In her free time, Ava enjoys theatre, coffee and cheering on Tar Heel sports. Find her on Twitter @apukatch.