New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced that a program that provided prepaid debit cards to thousands of undocumented immigrants will soon end.
Earlier this year, the city began implementing a pilot program to provide prepaid debit cards to some residents. Estimation 60,000 migrants are living in evacuation centers.
“The total amount must not exceed $53.” [million] …depending on the scope of services and fees.
City officials initially defended the program, arguing that it would reduce costs compared to the boxed lunch services immigrants were receiving, and that it would allow immigrants to purchase food they prefer and that is more suited to their dietary restrictions. We were also able to purchase baby items if needed.
The amount immigrants receive varies, but a family of four with two young children typically receives about $350 a week. Since the program began, about 2,600 immigrants living at the Roosevelt Hotel have been awarded a total of about $3.2 million, a figure officials believe is about half the cost of boxed lunch services. .
But critics raised red flags about the program from the moment it was revealed.
First, it is unclear whether purchases made with the card were ever monitored. The card can reportedly only be used at grocery stores, convenience stores, and shopping malls, but recipients sign an affidavit promising to use the card only for its intended purpose. Although needed, it may still have been used for items unrelated to food or other necessities.
Additionally, such prepaid debit cards are not available to homeless and other poor Americans living in the city, leading New York City Councilman Joseph Borelli to call the program “fundamentally unfair.” Ta. He and other Republicans on the council argued that debit cards were encouraging more illegal aliens to move to New York.
Although billed as a cost-cutting measure, the program came about as a result of a one-year “emergency” no-bid contract with the New Jersey-based technology startup. Mobility Capital Finance. The process has been shortened so there are no competing offers and little time for thorough consideration.
City Auditor Brad Lander subsequently revoked the city's authority to award such emergency no-bid contracts for immigrant services.
The total cost of the program is also unclear. some report It shows that MoCaFi only receives $400,000 for its services. new york post In February, it claimed that the contract itself indicated that MoCaFi would receive “an amount not to exceed $53 in the aggregate.” [million] … subject to a range of services and fees,'' and said the $53 million amount does not include amounts charged to debit cards.
Despite these concerns, city council In July, it announced that it would expand the program. Now, with his contract expiring at the end of the year, Adams has reversed course and decided not to renew his contract.
“As we move toward more competitive contracts for the Asylum Seeker Program, we have chosen not to renew this pilot program emergency contract after its one-year term,” Adams said in a statement. Ta. WABC TV It was reported on Thursday.
Adams did not further explain why the program was being discontinued. But City Hall spokesman William Fowler insisted that concerns about potential waste, fraud and abuse never materialized, Gothamist reported.
“As we care for hundreds of new arrivals each week, we will continue to implement and learn from innovative pilot programs like our immediate response card program,” Fowler said.
The announcement about the end of the program comes as former President Donald Trump campaigned heavily on securing the border and deporting millions of illegal immigrants who entered the country under the Biden-Harris administration. It came just days after he decisively defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. 2024 presidential election.
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