NYC mayor Adams admits immigrants are largely behind rise in prostitution, says it's because they can't find work

New York City Mayor Eric Adams admitted that an increase in prostitution in a Queens neighborhood includes female illegal immigrants from Venezuela.

The mayor explained how he has faced resistance from elected officials regarding punishing prostitutes who are often in neighborhoods frequented by families, where businesses operate.

"This is where idealism collides with realism,” Adams said at a press conference. “I’ve had elected officials tell me that the women are just trying to work [and ask], ‘Why are you trying to harm them?'"

Adams then explained that there is perhaps more than meets the eye to the issue.

"There are real issues around illegal sex work, not only from STDs, to sex trafficking, to young girls getting involved in it, to violence. So people who don’t understand how serious this is, they are impeding our progress," he added.

A reporter at the press conference asked the mayor if Venezuelan migrants had contributed to the increased numbers of prostitutes circulating the area, even in the daytime.

"There's a level of accuracy to that," Adams admitted. However, the mayor seemed to suggest that the problem is that the illegal immigrants cannot work legally.

“This is what happens when you create an atmosphere that people can’t provide for themselves — you can’t work, you can’t provide for your job and have to turn to illegal activities to do so,” he continued.

“When I talk about the spiraling impact of how this is going to affect our city, this is what I’m talking about. It is going to impact the foundation of the quality of life of our city."

Adams also added that the sex workers are even “overt during the day," and the ongoing issues are going to "create generational problems." He then blamed the federal government for these problems.

Despite all the issues stemming from illegal immigrants, Adams has yet to suggest that the city's status as a sanctuary city is a factor. In fact, he claimed that the city's shelter system has been a "successful model."

Even with reports of massive budget cuts and the city offering to pay for one-way airplane tickets for illegal immigrants to anywhere else in the world, the mayor has repeatedly suggested that additional federal funding is the solution.

According to the New York Post, prostitution is a Class B misdemeanor in New York and is punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!