New York City's administration, under Mayor Eric Adams, is set to significantly extend a contentious initiative that provides cash-loaded debit cards to immigrant families residing in city-funded hotels.
The expansion of this program, which has been met with criticism from some quarters, is expected to benefit over 7,300 immigrants in the next half-year, costing the city approximately $2.6 million.
As reported by The New York Post, this move marks a substantial enlargement of a pilot scheme initiated earlier this year, which saw around 3,000 immigrants receive these debit cards. The program, a collaboration between the Adams administration and Mobility Capital Finance, aims to assist immigrants with essential items such as food and baby supplies while they await work authorization from the federal government.
Anne Williams-Isom, New York City's Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, defended the program, stating that it offers newly arrived families the opportunity to "make choices for themselves and their children." She further added, "They can buy from local shops, support small businesses, and manage their own resources. When we empower people, we help them achieve self-sufficiency and access the American Dream."
Mayor Adams has justified the program as a "cost savings measure" that temporarily supplants the city's existing system of providing non-perishable food boxes to immigrant families in city-funded shelters and hotels. According to the program's guidelines, a family of four with children under five can receive up to $350 per week, or roughly $18,200 annually.
However, the program has not been without its detractors. New York Council member Joseph Borelli, among others, has contended that the debit cards are "fundamentally unfair" to the city's working poor, who do not receive similar benefits. Borelli and fellow Republicans argue that the city's right to shelter law, coupled with its 'sanctuary' policy cooperation with immigration crackdowns, are attracting an unprecedented number of immigrants to the city.
Over the past year, New York City has witnessed an influx of more than 183,000 asylum seekers amid a historic surge of immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. The city has spent over $1 billion on tens of thousands of immigrants under its care in the past year and anticipates spending around $10 billion on immigrant costs in the coming years.
City officials argue that debit cards are a more cost-effective solution, costing about half as much as delivering food boxes to families in city shelters and hotels. They claim that the program has already saved the city over $598,000 and is projected to save $4 million on immigrant costs by the end of this year.
However, a group of Congressional Republicans, including Reps. Darrell Issa, Barry Moore, and Lauren Boebert, have criticized the program, questioning the use of federal funds for the debit cards, the eligibility determination process, and the tracking of the money's usage. They highlighted that the $350 provided to immigrants weekly through the debit card program surpasses the average $291 per month given to low-income, elderly, and disabled U.S. citizens through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
These GOP lawmakers also criticized Mayor Adams over the city's "sanctuary" status and its transportation and housing programs, which they claim are encouraging illegal immigrants to flood the city.
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