New York City is expanding a program that provides debit cards pre-loaded with cash to migrant families staying in taxpayer-funded hotels across the city. The Adams administration has announced plans to distribute another round of debit cards, totaling more than 7,300 over the next six months at a cost of approximately $2.6 million. This expansion follows a pilot program that began earlier this year and distributed cards to around 3,000 migrants.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom says the debit card program empowers newly arriving families by allowing them to make choices for themselves and their children. She adds that the program helps migrants purchase items from local shops, support small businesses, and manage their own resources, ultimately enabling self-sufficiency and access to the American Dream.
Mayor Eric Adams has defended this approach as a cost-saving measure that temporarily replaces the city’s existing system of providing non-perishable food boxes to migrant families staying in hotels and other city shelters. The program is a partnership between the Adams administration and Mobility Capital Finance, aiming to assist migrants with food, baby supplies, and other necessities as they await authorization to work from the federal government.
Under the debit card program, a four-person family with children under five years old can receive up to $350 per week or approximately $18,200 annually. Critics argue that these debit cards are fundamentally unfair to New York City’s working poor who do not receive similar benefits from the city. They contend that the city’s right-to-shelter law and its sanctuary policy are drawing a record number of migrants to the city, resulting in significant expenditures on shelter, food, and other necessities for these new arrivals.
New York City has spent over $1 billion on tens of thousands of migrants under its care over the past year, expecting to spend around $10 billion on migrant costs in the coming years. Despite these costs, city officials say that the debit card program is more cost-effective than delivering food boxes to hotel and shelter residents. The program has already saved the city more than $598,000, with projections of a total savings of $4 million on migrant expenses by year’s end.
In addition to concerns about the financial implications, Congressional Republicans have raised questions about whether federal funds are being used for the debit cards and how city officials determine eligibility for receiving the money. They also questioned if there is proper tracking of how and where the funds are spent. The GOP lawmakers emphasized that the weekly amount made available to migrants ($350) through the debit card program exceeds the average $291 per month given to low-income, elderly, and disabled U.S. citizens through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
Furthermore, the Republican lawmakers criticized Mayor Adams for his support of New York City’s sanctuary policy and the city’s transportation and housing programs that they claim are encouraging “illegal immigrants” to flock to the city. As the debit card program continues to expand, these concerns will likely persist, prompting ongoing discussions about the fairness and cost-efficiency of this approach to supporting migrant families in New York City.
