NYC mayor admits his invitation to house illegal aliens at Gracie Mansion was purely symbolic

Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed for New Yorkers that some Democratic promises may be better understood as expressions of sentiment rather than intent.

Adams indicated on June 6 that he would happy to house a handful of the nearly 80,000 illegal aliens who took advantage of his sanctuary city invitation at Gracie Mansion, the five-bedroom estate he occupies on East 88th Street, reported the New York Post.

"I am a big believer in leading from the front," said the mayor.

By sharing his luxury views of the East River with foreign nationals, Adams would also be sharing in the burden with which he saddled hotels, school gymnasiums, and 50 houses of worship around the city.

Adams qualified his statement, saying, "If it doesn’t go against legal protocols — there are protocols in place, so I can’t use the building in any way I want — but I don’t have a problem if I could put a migrant family in Gracie Mansion."

The offer came just weeks after parents, furious over the invasion of their children's schools by illegal aliens, pressed him to do so.

"I say to the mayor, 'Open up Gracie Mansion, and allow the migrants to have a shower and hot meal,'" Mayra Ducos, 42, told the Post outside her children's Williamsburg school. "'You have 22,000 square feet, let them seek refuge at your home.' I bet he has a good stove to cook the migrants a hot meal."

Adams revealed Thursday that when it comes to leading from the front, a believer is all he is.

"'I think leading the challenge of the migrant problem is both substantive and symbolic, and as I always said, 'Good generals lead from the front,'" said Adams. "They don't send their troops into battle and ask, 'How was the war?' They lead them into battle."

"The symbolism of saying, 'I'm willing to put a homeless family in Gracie' is that symbolism," added the mayor.

The self-described "general" noted that "legal issues" prevented him from following through on what he expects other New Yorkers with spare rooms to do.

"We are never going to break the law. And so, we'd be able to know what we can’t do and what we can't do as a symbolism of saying, 'I’m willing to open up the people’s house to the people of the city,'" said Adams.

NYC has sued at least 30 counties in the state for issuing emergency executive orders prohibiting hotels from hosting illegals bused in by Adams, reported the Daily Caller.

While Adams pleaded with a judge last month to "revisit" the city's sanctuary city law, noting, "We have reached our limit," he has yet to clarify whether his 2021 vow to protect illegal aliens from deportation was similarly symbolic.

TheBlaze previously reported that as of late May, the city had already spent close to $4.3 billion to deal with the migrant crisis.

The roughly 80,000 illegal aliens NYC has received is just a small fraction of the millions that have stolen into the nation since President Joe Biden took office. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over 1.4 million entered the country between October and April; over 2.3 million entered between October 2021 and September 2022; and over 1.4 million entered between January 2021 and September 2022.

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