Another big-city Democratic mayor, Eric Adams of New York City, is complaining that his city’s homeless shelters are being overwhelmed by asylum-seekers from Latin America being bused up from the border states, and he wants the feds to do something about it.

Mr. Adams said families are arriving at New York on buses sent by the states of Texas and Arizona, as well as the federal government, and are overwhelming the city’s homeless shelters. New York now has 48,188 people sleeping in its shelters, up from about 45,000 three months ago. Asylum-seekers account for most of the spike, the mayor’s office said.

“In order to both meet the legal mandate as a right-to-shelter city and provide high-quality shelter and services for those who enter our system, New York City needs additional federal resources immediately,” Mr. Adams said.

Earlier this week, Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, made similar complaints about asylum-seekers that have been showing up in her city in recent weeks.

“This is a very significant issue,” Ms. Bowser said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We have, for sure, called on the federal government to work across state lines to prevent people from really being tricked into getting on buses. We think they’re largely asylum seekers who are going to final destinations that are not Washington, D.C.”

“We really need a coordinated federal response,” she added. 

Asked about the topic at a press briefing Wednesday, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the administration has been in contact with governors and called the treatment of asylum-seekers “shameful.”

“This has come up before, and we believe it’s shameful that some governors are using migrants as a political tool, as a political play, when we should be making sure that we’re doing everything that we can to help folks who are coming into this process in a legal way and making sure that we do this in a safe way and respectful way,” she said. “I think it is shameful that that is happening.”

Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey, disputed Mr. Adams’s allegation that his state was the source of migrants arriving at New York. He said Arizona is providing transportation only to Washington, D.C.

“President Biden created the crisis at the border — he’s failed to respond to calls for action and refuses to even visit the border, so we’re bringing the issue a little closer to home for him,” Mr. Ducey said on Twitter. “The President’s policies have placed overwhelming burdens on Arizona communities. It’s convenient that these liberal mayors are finally speaking up on this humanitarian crisis once it affects their communities.”

“Here’s what’s shameful,” he added, following the White House comments. “Governors across the country have been calling on the Biden admin to take action and address the border crisis. The response: crickets. Yet somehow, big city mayors have immediately caught the White House’s attention.”

The U.S. Border Patrol has reported record numbers of immigrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border this year seeking asylum. In June alone, the border patrol reported apprehending more than 191,000 migrants at the border, most of whom were released into the community after being processed. 

Mr. Ducey’s counterpart in Texas, Greg Abbott, said his state has sent some 3,000 of those migrants to Washington from the border cities of Eagle Pass and Del Rio in Texas. “Thanks to the state of Texas, President Biden will be able to immediately meet the needs of migrants he is allowing to cross our border,” Mr. Abbott said.