Broome County Executive Jason Garnar declared a state of emergency on Thursday in an effort to prevent New York City from sending migrants to the county.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city is over capacity and has looked to other areas in the state to take in migrants. On Thursday, two buses of migrants were bused from Manhattan to Orange County in the Hudson Valley despite a state of emergency in that county against such a move.

With the declaration, Garnar became the first Democrat to issue a state of emergency, joining Republican county executives in Rockland, Rensselaer Onedia and Orange counties who have done so this week.

The emergency order prohibits municipalities outside Broome County to contract with hotels and other shelters without a permit issued by the county.

“Broome County already has a very limited number of places for our own residents to live, both temporarily and long-term," Garnar said Thursday. "Our shelters and contracted hotels and motels are currently filled with individuals in need of housing. Food pantries are still trying to keep up with the need in the community following the pandemic. Human services are in high demand and our healthcare system continues to be pushed to its limit in the wake of COVID. The limited resources we have are for Broome County residents first and foremost; we do not have the capacity to take on large groups of people should they arrive in our community.”