New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday that his administration is cutting 10% in funding geared toward asylum-seekers to join the additional 20% in spending cuts already announced in New York City’s preliminary budget.
The announcement of the slash in immigrant funding came after Adams said in an interview with ABC 7 that drastic city budget cuts across all municipal agencies wouldn’t be needed after the cuts to spending on asylum-seekers, as well as a “better-than-expected economic performance” in 2023.
“When we inherited it, we were in an emergency state,” Adams said of the migrant crisis. “Emergency conditions cost more money. We’re now transitioning into a stabilized state. This is going to be here for a while. So by doing that, we can renegotiate contracts. We can look at long-term planning. We’re not using this as an emergency, although we’re in a crisis status. We’re treating it differently because the emergency still exists. But we are managing it differently.”
The cuts to migrant spending will go into effect in the coming weeks, according to ABC 7.
Adams said New Yorkers should feel relieved, as the budget is stabilizing following two punishing budget cuts to all but the most essential city services. A third round of cuts is not planned, the mayor added.
“You’re not going to see some of those draconian steps that we were going to have to take that will get in the way of the cleanliness and the safety of our city,” Adams said.
Last year, Adams announced severe budget cuts to police, libraries, and schools, stating that the migrant crisis made the cuts necessary.
“No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning,” he said in November.
Adams recently had to clear up reports about immigrants receiving prepaid, reloadable credit cards to buy groceries and supplies in a partnership with Mobility Capital Finance that was announced earlier this month. The cards can only be used at bodegas, grocery stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets.
The Democratic mayor said in a Tuesday interview with Fox 5 NY that each migrant would get about $13 a day, “so it’s not automatically $1,000 as it has been reported.” The cards will be loaded with $12.52 a day for 28 days, with Adams saying it will save “$600,000 a month, $7.2 million a year.” New York City has allocated $53 million to the pilot program.
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The cuts in asylum spending come in the wake of a series of violent acts allegedly committed by immigrants that have drawn national attention, as Republicans continue to slam Democrats and President Joe Biden for what they perceive is a lack of attentiveness to border security.
New York City recently expanded curfew for immigrants living in 25 shelters across the city from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., affecting roughly 3,600 immigrants.
