'Out of his gourd': NYC Mayor Eric Adams trolled as he suggests hiring migrants as lifeguards amid shortage

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams stirred controversy on Tuesday, May 14, suggesting that migrants should be employed to address the city's persistent lifeguard shortage, because they are "excellent swimmers."

The mayor's proposal, made during a City Hall briefing, reignited debates surrounding immigration policy and labor shortages in the United States.

Eric Adams' proposal to tackle lifeguard shortage

Responding to inquiries about the staffing challenges faced by the city's beaches and pools, particularly in anticipation of Memorial Day, Mayor Adams diverged into an unexpected solution. He implied that migrant work visas could be expedited to swiftly fill positions in dire need of personnel, such as lifeguard roles.

"How do we have a large body of people that are in our city, our 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?" Mayor Adams questioned during the briefing. "That just doesn’t make sense."

Adams highlighted the paradox of having a substantial population with swimming skills yet facing shortages in lifeguard staffing.

“If we had a plan that said, ‘If there was a shortage of food service workers and those who fit that criteria, we’re going to expedite you,’ if you have experience that you are a nurse and we have nursing shortage, we would expedite you,” he said. “It’s the same for lifeguards. We have all these eligible people waiting to work, with the skills we need to do the jobs, but we are unable to allow them to work because bureaucracy is in the way.”

Lifeguard shortage

Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi provided insights into the current lifeguard shortage, noting that 560 first-time lifeguards had passed "rigorous" testing for positions this year, a significant increase from the previous year's 364 successful applicants. However, it remained uncertain how many existing lifeguards would be recertified for the upcoming summer season.

The city's efforts to recruit new lifeguards have included raising wages to $22 per hour and offering $1,000 bonuses for those committed to working through peak seasons. Despite these incentives, approximately 1,500 lifeguards are still needed to cover the extensive network of beaches and public pools across the city.

The proposal to enlist migrants in addressing the shortage reflects a broader trend in grappling with national lifeguard shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the American Lifeguard Association, the pandemic disrupted training opportunities and diminished the perception of lifeguarding as an essential profession, contributing to ongoing staffing challenges.

"As the summer approaches, there is a growing concern that public swimming pools across America may be closed again due to a lifeguard shortage," the group said in a statement, adding that "about a third of the country’s 309,000 public swimming pools" were closed or opened erratically last year because of this.

The mayor's office said on Tuesday night that Mayor Adams has consistently promoted immigrants as a potential solution to the city's labor shortages over the past several months.

"Mayor Adams has been clear that there is nothing more un-American than not allowing someone to work," a spokesperson for Adams' office told NBC News in an emailed statement. "Anyone who is trying to make more out of the mayor continuing to make that point today is missing the forest for the trees."

“This is not a new comment from the mayor,” a City Hall rep told the New York Post. “He’s repeatedly made the point that there are people who are qualified for jobs where we have vacancies, they are prepared to do the job, and yet the federal government continues to deny them the legal right to work.”

Adams mocked for his comments on social media

However, Adams faced quite a backlash on social media for proposing the idea of hiring migrants to alleviate the lifeguard shortage in the city.

"This guy is out of his gourd. Mayor Adams is in charge of the largest U.S. city and he says this nonsense. Rationalizing illegals is an insult to every human who’s in the country legally. Shame on Adams," one posted on X.

"Who said comedy is dead? The jokes are writing themselves," another wrote.

"LOL wow! He really just said that," someone else added.

"That has to be a joke. Like the question of why doesn’t Mexico have a good Olympic Team? Everyone who can run, jump, or swim is already in the US," a comment read.

"Imagine if a white Republican mayor said that," another offered.

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