New York City's immigration crisis hasn't stopped government officials from spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on lawyers for illegal aliens, including criminals, according to data reviewed by the newspaper. Daily Caller News Foundation.
The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project has continued to receive a steady stream of taxpayer funding for the past several years, according to budget information obtained by news outlets.
“An absurd expenditure of taxpayers' resources.”
NYIFUP is an initiative comprised of several nonprofit organizations that provide free legal advice to foreign nationals facing immigration proceedings. Specifically, this initiative will serve individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Bronx Defenders, one of the nonprofit organizations that make up NYIFUP, said The initiative says it will provide representation to foreign nationals “regardless of income, criminal history, or eligibility for relief.”
“By advocating for release on bail and reducing the time clients spend in ICE custody, we can reduce the social and economic costs of immigration detention and avoidable deportations, such as homelessness, foster care, and unemployment. ' the group claimed.
Over the past several years, New York City taxpayers have contributed more than $50 million to NYIFUP, including $17.35 million in fiscal year 2022 and $1,660 million in fiscal year 2023, according to data obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. $10,000,000, including an additional $16.6 million in fiscal year 2024.
While NYIFUP absorbs taxpayer funding, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced a 5% budget cut across city agencies at the end of 2023. As a result, the New York City Police Department, already short-staffed, put a hiring freeze on the force. It also meant cuts to trash pickup and pre-K programs. Adams blamed the budget cuts on the city's immigration crisis.
“This is probably one of the most painful exercises I've ever gone through in my entire career in government,” the mayor said.
New York City Councilmember Inna Vernikov (R) told DCNF that the city's immigration problem is “well advanced.”
“New York City needs to stop being a city-state and act as part of a whole, under the jurisdiction of the nation's highest immigration law, the national government, in accordance with the U.S. Constitution,” she said. “I'm interested in dealing with reality, and the reality is that this rigged experiment has failed.”
“We need to strip our taxpayers' money away from any organization that allows criminal illegal immigrants to wreak havoc on our cities,” Vernikov added.
City Councilman David Carr (R) told news outlets that NYIFUP is a “ridiculous expenditure of taxpayer funds.”
“While the federal government seeks to enforce immigration laws, cities like New York must not undermine its efforts, especially when it comes to defending criminals. Criminal aliens should be deported as soon as possible. '' Carr said.
Matt O'Brien, director of research at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, told DCNF: “I understand why New York City would want to spend limited tax dollars to help foreign illegal offenders fight deportation. It's difficult to do that.”
Neither the mayor's office nor the Department of Immigration Affairs responded to media requests for comment.
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