Mayor Adams under fire for suggesting migrants are 'excellent swimmers'
Editor's note: The video above aired on May 2, 2024.
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Mayor Eric Adams has come under fire for suggesting migrants could make good lifeguards because they are "excellent swimmers" during a news conference on Tuesday.
"If we had a migrant and asylum seeker plan that states those jobs that we are in high demand, we could expedite," Adams said. "How do we have a large body of people that are in our city and country that are excellent swimmers, and at the same time we need lifeguards?"
Adams was answering a question about the city's lifeguard shortage when he made the remarks.
Some on X have called the mayor racist.
"Wouldn't that be considered a racist remark? Damn, Mayor Adams," said one X user.
"Mayor Adams tells us he is racist without saying it.." said another X user.
Some migrants cross a river at the southern border to get into the U.S.
Adams also suggested that migrants and asylum seekers be hired as food service workers and nurses depending on their existing skills and the need for workers in those fields.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.