NYC Council Blasts Debit Card Program For Illegal Immigrants

The New York City Council recently blasted New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ (D) decision to provide illegal immigrants with debit cards worth up to $10,000, with members of the council calling to investigate the measure.

The city council is not letting Adams’ plan take effect without an investigation, particularly into the no-bid contract needed to launch the program.

Adams unveiled the measure in February 2024, insisting it would allow illegal immigrants in New York City to feed themselves while saving the city millions of dollars in costs associated with wasted food.

Breitbart News reported that Adams estimated the pre-paid debit cards would cost New York City $53 million, allowing those unlawfully to spend $35 daily to purchase food instead of receiving pre-packaged meals supplied by the city.

Nonetheless, the city council is not too fond of Adams’ plan, with Councilmember Gale Brewer criticizing the mayor for the contract award, saying, “I think you should bid it out to see who would do the best job at the best cost for taxpayers.”

Brewer called on the council to investigate Adams’ program.

“I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work. I do see from the release it will be for diapers and baby products and food, but you have to be careful that that’s what it’s actually going to be for,” the councilmember pointed out.

Adams said the company responsible for handing out the pre-paid debit cards, Mobility Capital Finance, was one he chose because it was minority-owned.

“WMBs — you know, women — and minority-owned businesses — have historically been locked out … So, I know I’m disrupting what people traditionally would like for us to do,” Adams said, referring to the company.

The New York City mayor insisted he has no personal relationship with the principles at Mobility Capital Finance, saying, “We don’t hang out in the Hamptons together or go to baseball games together.”

Adams’ decision to provide illegal immigrants in his city with the debit comes as 56% of New Yorkers live near the poverty line, with such a figure increasing since 2021.

From 2021-2022, the number of New Yorkers living in poverty increased by 500,000.