U.S.

Politics World Opinion Media Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Video AI More Login Watch TV

Eric Adams

Adams defends pre-paid migrant cards, part of $53M

NYC pilot program: 'Not giving people American Express'
Mayor Eric Adams claims program giving migrants cards to buy food, baby supplies will save New York City $6.7 million
per year
By Danielle Wallace Fox News

Published February 6, 2024 3:08pm EST

More from Politics

12 mins ago
Trump-era DHS
officials slam
Senate bill as
'disaster' for border
security

19 mins ago
Why Nevada's
holding dueling GOP
primary and caucus
with Trump and
Haley on separate
ballots

43 mins ago
Biden admin sued
for hiding John
Kerry's staff,
coordination with
eco groups

1 hour ago
Fox News Politics:
Border nonstarter

New York City to hand out pre-paid credit cards to migrants

Fox News national correspondent Bryan LLenas has the latest on how the Big Apple is responding to the migrant influx on 'America Reports.'

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your
free account!

By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy , which
includes our Notice of Financial Incentive . To access the content, check your email and follow the
instructions provided.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday defended a reported $53 million pilot
program to hand out pre-paid credit cards to migrant families housed in hotels despite
public outcry.

Appearing before a state legislative budget hearing in Albany on Tuesday, the Democrat
mayor said he sought to dismiss "misinformation" about the program.

"We’re not giving people American Express cards," Adams said. "We found that the food
delivery service that we set up during the emergency – we could find a better way to do it
in our belief that we want to cut 20% of the migrant costs. So we have a pilot project with
500 people that we are giving them food cards, so instead of a debit card, instead of
having to deliver food, and have people eat food – we were seeing wasting food – they’re
now able to get their own food, that is going to be spent $12 a day."

"So we are going to save money on delivery, we’re going to save money on people wasting
food, and this is a pilot project we’re going to use that is going to save us $6.7 million a
year," Adams said. "And if the pilot turns out to be successful, then we’re going to expand
it not only with the migrants and asylum seekers, we’d look to do that expansion

throughout the entire system – trying to find smarter, more cost-effective ways to deal
with this crisis that was dropped in our lap."

NEW YORK CITY TO HAND OUT $53 MILLION IN PRE-PAID CREDIT CARDS TO MIGRANT
FAMILIES: REPORT

New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended a program to give migrants cards to spend on food and baby products, while
appearing before a state budget hearing. (Handout via NY Senate)

Under the pilot program, migrants will be getting 40% more than the state gives to low-
and elderly New Yorkers under SNAP benefits.

Each migrant would receive about $350 a month to spend on food and baby supplies. As
noted by Newsweek, that's more than the maximum allotment that low-income New York
residents receive in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
According to the state's website, single households are eligible for up to $291 a month in
SNAP benefits aimed at providing "low-income working people, senior citizens, the
disabled and others" money to buy food products.

Migrants sit in Tompkins Square Park across from a migrant re-ticketing center at St. Brigid School on Jan. 5, 2024, in
Manhattan. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The migrant pilot program also hands out more than two times the amount the state gives
monthly in services for single veterans, Fox News's Bryan Llenas reported.

RAPPER 50 CENT SAYS ‘MAYBE TRUMP IS THE ANSWER’ AFTER SEEING NYC GIVE
PRE-PAID CREDIT CARDS TO MIGRANTS

The mayor's explanation came during an annual hearing, known as "Tin Cup Day," when
mayors make budgetary requests before the state legislature.

Single migrant men, mostly from West Africa, congregate in Tompkins Square Park as volunteers give away food and
clothing, Jan. 27, 2024, in the East Village neighborhood of New York City.

Adams, who testified that the Big Apple's shelter population has tripled since he took
office, asked the state to cover 50% of the costs to handle the migrant crisis in New York
City.

New York City's government has projected it will spend at least $10.6 billion on migrants
by summer 2025. New York state has already vowed to contribute about $2 billion in the
current budget cycle to the migrant crisis, but Adams told lawmakers on Tuesday that the
state pledge would only cover one-third of the city’s migrant costs.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, another Democrat, has suggested the state earmark $2.4 billion to go
toward migrant services in the next budget cycle, but the details have not been ironed out
before the state legislature. Adams' office said even that allocation proposed by Hochul
would be $600 million short of what the city needs in its next budget cycle, the New York
Daily News reported.

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips
can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.

U.S. Politics World Opinion Media Entertainment

Crime Executive U.N. FOX Nation Coverage Celebrity News
Military Senate Conflicts Movies
Education House Terrorism TV News
Terror Judiciary Disasters Music News
Immigration Foreign Policy Global Economy Style News
Economy Polls Environment Entertainment Video
Personal Freedoms Elections Religion
Fox News Investigates Scandals
Digital Originals

Sports Lifestyle FOX Business Science & Tech Watch Live About
NFL Health Personal Finance Air & Space FOX News Shows Contact Us
College Football Food & Drink Economy Security Programming Schedule Careers
MLB Auto Markets Innovation On Air Personalities Fox Around the World
NBA Travel & Outdoors Watchlist Video Games Full Episodes Advertise With Us
NHL Real Estate Lifestyle Military Tech Show Clips Media Relations
Golf House & Home Real Estate Planet Earth News Clips Corporate Information
Tennis Fitness + Well-being Tech Wild Nature Compliance
Soccer Style & Beauty
UFC Family
WWE Faith

Apps & Products

FOX News Go
FOX Weather
FOX Nation
FOX News Shop
FOX News Radio
Outkick
Newsletters
Podcasts

New Terms of Use New Privacy Policy Your Privacy Choices Closed Caption Policy Help Contact Us Accessibility Statement

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or
delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Legal Statement . Mutual Fund and ETF
data provided by Refinitiv Lipper .