New York City plans to provide prepaid debit cards to 7,300 migrant families with children staying at city-run shelters. The program began in March when the city distributed 3,000 debit cards to migrants, allowing them to purchase essentials like food and baby products from approved grocery stores and bodegas.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, D, announced that the program is in partnership with Mobility Capital Finance. The initial pilot program cost the city $53 million.
These debit cards replace a meal program that previously provided boxed food to asylum-seeking families staying at hotels, which have now been converted to migrant shelters across New York City. Officials estimate that the debit cards will save New York City taxpayers $4.5 million this year.
The exact amount each family will receive remains unclear. According to The New York Times, a migrant family of four with children can receive about $350 a week, depending on other income.
The city’s deputy mayor for Health and Human Services considers the pilot debit card program a success, emphasizing that it gives asylum seekers the autonomy to make choices for themselves and their children.
However, critics, including Republican New York City Councilman Joseph Borelli, argue that the city-funded cards are unfair to low-income New Yorkers who don’t receive similar benefits.
“We’re just giving this migrant population more free stuff at the expense of New York City taxpayers,” Borelli stated.
With over 180,000 migrants seeking asylum in New York City in the last year, some Republicans believe that additional handouts will attract more undocumented immigrants to the city. The city has already spent more than a billion dollars addressing the migrant crisis.