Transcript: Mayor Adams Visits and Makes Remarks in the Darién Gap

October 7, 2023

Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, Colombia to the United States: [Speaks in Spanish.]

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you, ambassador, general, thank you as well. [Inaudible.]

As I said, I want to thank the ambassador and thank the general of the National Police, was here for their… just real information on the ground and above ground of a true analysis of the Darién Gap and what this country is facing as well as the countries in the region and the flow of migrants and asylum seekers as they continue to move through all the countries impacted here in South America that's making their way up to North America.

It was crucial for us and my delegation to come here and engage on the ground with those nonprofits, U.N. officials, everyday residents of these countries that are being impacted and to communicate with the migrants and asylum seekers that we communicated with as well. This is a true learning experience of how Colombia has really shown a direction that I think all of us could benefit from by analyzing what they're doing and how we could grow on what they're doing so that we can show the level of humanity that is deserved.

When you look at what's happening here, people are sleeping out waiting to get transportation just to start a terrible journey that is extremely dangerous going through the Darién Gap. Children, remember, children have increased, and the increase in our region.

This is an interesting issue but it's also a regional issue. And the only way we can solve this issue is for all of those who are part of it to collaborate and coordinate with each other, and that is what this trip has allowed me to do with a lot of work, when we return, not only to deal with the immediate concerns we have of over 116,000 migrant and asylum seekers, over 60,000 still in our care.

But we have to one, push back on the propaganda that is giving people false hopes and false promises, our goal to is to identify those locations and sites and [inaudible] so we can give people a true assessment of what's playing out on the streets of New York. Two, give support to our neighbors and cities and countries in the southern part of this region.

And three, to come up with a real coordinated formidable plan for once and for all, [that] we're all coordinating on how to deal with a level of humanitarian crisis— probably the greatest level of mobility with human beings that we've seen in our lifetime— and we need to come up with a real plan that's coordinated and inclusive [to] deal with all of the aspects that each one of the countries that are seeing this movement is dealing with, as well as those countries that are receiving this movement.

And I really want to thank you, ambassador and general for your commitment. And the day that you've showed us today of seeing actually what is playing out here. Thank you very much. General.

Consul General William René Salamanca Ramirez, Colombia: [Speaks in Spanish.]

Question: Mr. Mayor, what do you expect the Colombian government and other Latin American governments to do regarding this crisis? What actions do you want [inaudible]?

Mayor Adams: I think [inaudible] we are in a region where South and Central and North America, we are a family. And to put this on one family member is not the right thing to do. And to watch our family members in general, but specifically children go through this is not the right thing to do. So, I think that we need a real analysis and the family must come together in this region to solve this problem that's impacting this entire region at a level that we have never witnessed before.

So, my goal was not to come and tell another family member what they should be doing, my goal was to learn and see how we can solve this problem together.

Question: [Speaks in Spanish.]

Mayor Adams: The securing and the control of the borders is a national decision. It is made by the national government. Our cities across the country, particularly Chicago and New York, Los Angeles, Houston and others, are seeing the impact of the actions that is happening on a national level.

I'm going to mobilize the mayors in our cities and call upon our federal government to have real immigration reform and to ensure the right resources are going to those cities and our partners in this region that are really stopping the real flow that will inundate America. Many people are on the trail to come to America and passing through many of these countries, and we need a collaborative, coordinated effort on how we're going to resolve this crisis.

I'm going to continue to do my work, I'm going to mobilize with the other mayors not only in America but across these regions because this is a local problem that I believe in collaboration with our [inaudible] based organizations and our other NGOs we can come up with a humane way of dealing with this crisis.

And again, when you look at Colombia, they have really showed how to absorb individuals into their society. One of the most important ways to do it is to allow people to work. We're going to continue to call on that. Nothing is more humane, nothing is more American than your right to work, and we believe that's a right we should extend. Thank you.

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