New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested allowing migrants to work as lifeguards to address the city’s shortage of lifeguards, citing many migrants’ excellent swimming skills. At a press conference, 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 — and the only obstacle is that we won’t give them the right to work to become a lifeguard? That just doesn’t make sense.”

Adams also highlighted shortages in other occupations, such as food service workers and nurses, and emphasized the need to expedite work permits for migrants. “We have all these eligible people waiting to work with the skills we need to fill the jobs, but we are unable to allow them to work because bureaucracy is in the way. That just does not make sense.”

The city has been grappling with a migrant crisis, with over 195,000 migrants entering the shelter system since 2022 and 65,000 still in the shelters. Adams, along with other blue city mayors, has called for additional funding and expedited work permits from the federal government.

However, Adams’ comments drew criticism from conservatives, who compared them to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent statement about black children in the Bronx not knowing the word “computer.” Commentator Dana Loesch said, “The GOP should be making ads off these insane elements.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)