NYC to provide illegal alien families with pre-paid credit cards

After warning that a surge in illegal arrivals to the Big Apple would "destroy New York City" and blaming the influx for prompting budget cuts, New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams reportedly plans to provide illegal alien families with pre-paid credit cards.

New York City has witnessed the arrival of more than 110,000 illegals over the past year, in part due to Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's policy of bussing new arrivals to sanctuary cities in a bid to highlight the Biden administration's lax approach to border enforcement. Adams's administration has struggled to accommodate the migrants under the city's "right-to-shelter" mandate and has explored a litany of unconventional venues for use as potential temporary housing.

Now, Adams is looking to help the families purchase food and other essential goods by providing them with pre-paid credit cards for use on a select list of products, The New York Post reported. The plan will begin with a $53 million pilot program targeting the migrant residents of the Roosevelt Hotel. Run through Mobility Capital Finance, the pilot plan will provide 500 families with an Immediate Response Card for use on food and infant care supplies.

The city estimates that roughly 15,000 migrant families currently reside in NYC hotels and the administration plans to expand the program to all of them should the pilot program prove fruitful.

"Not only will this provide families with the ability to purchase fresh food for their culturally relevant diets and the baby supplies of their choosing, but the pilot program is expected to save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million annually," Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams said. 

Adams has struggled to address the influx over the past year and announced sweeping budget cuts to city services, including police, in November to offset the mounting costs of accommodating new arrivals. That move has led to legal consequences, with the United Federation of Teachers and the city's largest public sector union, DC 37, filing challenges.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.