Bipartisan New York City politicians condemned Mayor Eric Adams’ administration’s move to distribute thousands of prepaid debit cards to migrant families.
While Adams’ office claimed at the program’s launch in February that it would save the city $7.2 million a year, some city lawmakers decried the latest allotment of 7,300 cards as a signal for more border crossers.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Councilman Robert Holden, a Democrat from Glendale, Queens. For migrants This has got to stop.”
“Providing them with free housing, food, and legal aid while providing protection from federal authorities is not sustainable and will make the crisis worse. This madness needs to end now.”
Rockland County executive slams New York mayor over migrant bus plan
Councilman Robert Holden speaks during the Veterans Day Breakfast. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)
The borough of Holden has 70 migrant shelters, the most in the city, according to a New York Post analysis released Sunday.
Of the city’s zip codes, 10036 in Midtown Manhattan — which includes the Fox News headquarters — has eight shelters alone in a dense two-fifths square mile area.
Democratic Councilwoman Gail Brewer, who represents that neighborhood, declined to comment.
The council’s top Republican, Joe Borelli of Staten Island, said, Sanctuary city supporters Maybe they’re finally realizing the consequences of their actions.
“I think Democrats are realizing that American cities cannot become the world’s refugee camps,” Borelli said.
“We are heading into the third year of the migrant crisis in New York and there is debate over for these cards “It seems like this is the ‘least bad’ way to do things,” said the minority leader, whose party faces a 45-6 Democratic majority on the council.
City Council President Adrienne Adams could not be reached for comment.
However, Democratic Councilwoman Julie Won of Long Island City, Queens, praised the program, saying the prepaid cards give migrants “sovereignty and freedom to choose the food they want” and help them avoid “rotten” food provided by city contractors.
He said the estimated 60,000 migrants living under the city’s auspices should receive such assistance, and pointed to 23 shelters in Long Island City alone.
Won said New York City spent $463 million on food purchases last year, and he has publicly highlighted how food often goes to waste. He said the debit card program provides better services at less than 1% of the cost of working with food contractors.
New York City mayor’s assistant now reportedly cooperating with federal corruption probe: report
According to Queens News, Vaughn has previously organized “welcome dinners” for small groups of immigrants in his district, to help them integrate into the community and access essential services. Outlet Qns,
Several other Council Democrats, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who lives in Brooklyn, did not respond to requests for comment.
However, Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom defended the administration’s decision, and called on the federal government to “finish the job they started” and process a greater number of asylum applications to allow migrants to work.
“While doing our part to address this global humanitarian crisis, we are finding new ways to save taxpayer money, invest in the local economy and support our fellow New Yorkers in ways that work for families with children,” Williams-Isom said.
“They can shop local, support small businesses, and manage their own resources. When we empower people, we help them achieve self-sufficiency and realize the American dream.”
Additionally, a resident of the country’s largest housing project questioned why houses were being constructed in deprived areas.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Why are you sending them here? Send them to Fifth Avenue (or) Park Avenue…” said Shorne Shields of Queensbridge House New York Post on Sunday.
In response to criticisms of the program, a city spokesperson said the debit card program only covers a small portion of immigrants.
The spokesperson also pointed to the Right to Shelter policy, which requires New York City to house and provide housing to homeless people. He also said that migrants are still not allowed to receive federal SNAP food stamp benefits to support their daily living.
The spokesperson also cited recent calculations that put the average daily cost of food per migrant at $4. His analysis suggests that this amount is not excessive in New York City.
Meanwhile, a representative from MoCaFi, the New Jersey-based contractor the city brought in to manage the cards, directed Fox News Digital to recent reporting on the program when asked. Response to criticism,
The representative said MoCaFi’s day-to-day focus is on serving the 50 million unbanked and “underbanked” Americans.
