Even border-crossers are too scared of the crime-riddled Big Apple.

Mayor Adams was on hand for the cameras Sunday to greet the city’s latest busload of migrants being dumped here from Texas — only to be stunned to learn that the vast majority had  gotten off before they made it.

Hizzoner said the immigrants likely bailed out early  because of their “fear” of the city.

“We were led to believe about 40 people should have been on that bus. Only 14 got off,” Adams said at a 7 a.m. press conference at Midtown’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The mayor suggested that the most likely reason was “because of the fear that something was going to happen to them if they came to this location, people got off earlier.”

“And we are concerned about that because we don’t want people being dropped off [just] anywhere,” he said.

Major crime has skyrocketed in Gotham this year, soaring nearly 40% compared to 2021, according to NYPD statistics.

The city is simultaneously beset with quality-of-life concerns, ranging from complaints about the return of aggressive squeegee men to scores of homelessness on the streets to people openly having sex in  outdoor restaurant sheds.

A City Hall spokeswoman could not provide specific examples of what the migrants might have feared would greet them in New York — although she insisted the mayor was not specifically referring to the city’s soaring crime stats.

As Adams spoke to reporters, the handful of migrants who made it to their final destination, including young kids, were being  led out to the street to cabs.

They were to be taken to the city’s already overburdened shelters or assisted moving elsewhere if they arranged somewhere  to stay, the mayor said.

Their numbers add to the 50 border-crossers who were already bussed to New York City on Friday. The buses are  part of  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to  push  migrants into Democratic regions of the country to ease what he says is the Lone Star State’s “crisis caused” by the Biden administration’s “open border policies.’’

On Sunday, The Post caught Adams on video having a testy exchange with a woman  involved in  helping to get the handful of arrivals off the Texas bus.

It’s not clear what the dispute was about, but the mayor told the woman, “We’ve got to work together — we’re not on different sides here, we have to work together.’’ She abruptly walked off.

The Democratic mayor later complained about the lack of information from the Republican Texas governor’s office on the buses.

“They’re not letting us know when the buses are leaving. They’re not letting us know what are the needs of the people on the bus. They are not giving us any information so we’re unable to really provide the service to people en route,” Adams complained.

“We would like to get that information,” the mayor said.

 Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.

Still, Adams told The Post that he has no interest in asking President Biden or federal agencies to change the border policy and ease the flow of migrants to New York.

“As the mayor of the city of New York, I don’t weigh into immigration issues, border issues — I have to provide services for families that are here,” he said.

Sunday’s arrivals were walked to a special processing area staffed by City Hall staff, with “NYC Public Engagement Unit” signs on laptops. Tote bags with supplies, including boxed meals, were put out for their arrival.

The area was tightly restricted from prying eyes.

But once the migrants left the terminal, a small group of supportive activists greeted them, shouting, “Refugees are welcome here!” and “Refugees, welcome to New York!”

The first busload of migrants arrived  just days after Adams turned down Abbott’s invitation to visit the southern border to “see firsthand the dire situation” there.

Abbott has vowed to continue sending them to New York, which he has called an “ideal destination” because of the city’s generous treatment of homeless people. He has also sent more than 6,100 to Washington, DC, since April, which local leaders say has led to crisis.