The federal government needs to provide more assistance to local governments in New York to handle the influx of migrants as Mayor Eric Adams plans to send asylum seekers to counties north of New York City, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Tuesday said. 

New York state's approved $229 billion budget included $1 billion in aid with migrant costs overall, Stewart-Cousins noted, picking up about a third of the overall costs for New York City. 

"The federal government, frankly, has to do something to help all of our municipalities," she told reporters at a news conference. "This is not something any individual municipality can manage on their own."

Adams' administration is launching a voluntary program to send up to 300 adult, single men to Rockland and Orange counties for the next four months. Adams has called for additional help from state and federal officials while the city has used hotels as temporary shelters, providing meals, counseling and legal support. 

Moving migrants to the lower Hudson Valley has been opposed by the county executives in those areas, with both Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Rockland County Executive Ed Day declaring states of emergency. 

Stewart-Cousins, however, said New York officials need to work together on the issue. 

"We're doing what we can to be helpful as this situation continues to unfold," Stewart-Cousins. "But I don't think there's any doubt that the federal government should do more. I don't think rhetorical fights and calling names are helpful, either, quite franky." 

New York officials also need to "understand that we're dealing with human beings," she said.