New York City's new rules for buses dropping off migrants in full effect

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) -- Friday marked the first day a new executive order by the city takes effect.

Mayor Eric Adams is cracking down on the way buses carrying migrants are allowed to arrive at the port authority.

As buses of migrants continue to arrive in New York City weekly by the thousands, city officials are now implementing new rules for bus companies hoping for advanced notice of migrants’ arrival. 

Starting Friday charter bus companies must email specific information regarding how many people they are bringing 32 hours before they arrive. Buses are also now only allowed to arrive between 8:30 am and noon during weekdays unless otherwise directed by the city. 

The Mayor’s Office says the city will not be afraid to impound buses carrying migrants if companies knowingly fail to follow new regulations. Our PIX11 News crew waited at the Port Authority for hours Friday. While they saw no buses arriving, they did see NYPD law enforcement waiting outside the terminal, something migrant activist Power Malu says was not common before the executive order took place.

While he understands the need for a more coordinated effort, he worries this could lead to migrants being dropped off in random parts of the city. 

“Now you may start seeing that, why?,” questioned Malu. “Because people don’t want to get harassed. People don’t want to get tickets. They don’t want their buses to be impounded simply for doing their job. These are blue-collar workers. Focus your intention on helping the migrants that are here suffering, sitting in the shelters not even knowing what their next steps are.”

According to reports two buses did arrive at the Port Authority early Friday morning but likely won’t face any consequences due to a grace period.