Mayor Eric Adams has launched a program to distribute prepaid cash cards to migrants who illegally walked over the border, potentially directing up to $53 million of city funds into this endeavor.
However, this initiative has sparked widespread debate, with many believing Mayor Adams is prioritizing the lives of migrants over the lives of New Yorkers.
This program, which aims to provide migrants with up to $10,000 each a year without stringent identity checks or fraud prevention measures, has flown relatively under the radar.
Mayor Adams and his administration has kept a low profile about its specifics but on Tuesday, February 20th, it was revealed that a migrant family of four with two children under the age of 17 could receive up to $15,200 a year under the new pre-paid cash card program.
The mayor’s office has portrayed the initiative as a cost-saving measure, however, some have noted that this program will give more money to migrants than New Yorkers enrolled in the SNAP benefits program.
The decision to award the contract to Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi), a Newark-based company with limited experience in large-scale financial services, without a competitive bidding process, has raised questions about the program’s financial prudence and transparency.
MoCaFi, selected by City Hall and spotlighted for its mission to serve the underbanked, was the sole contender for this significant, no-bid, city contract. The CEO of MoCaFi, Wole Coaxum, also contributed to Adams’s mayoral campaign.
Critics, however, argue that the absence of competitive bidding and clear contract terms opens the door to potential financial mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer funds.
The program’s structure, notably the lack of eligibility checks and the ability for cardholders to spend freely, diverges greatly from traditional welfare and benefit programs, which incorporate strict fraud protections.
This has led to concerns over the city’s ability to ensure the program’s integrity and effectiveness.
City officials have stated that a single migrant could receive up to $345 a month, a migrant family of three could receive $932 a month, a family of four could get $1,195 a month, and a migrant family of eight is eligible for $2,203 a month.
According to the city’s cost chart, the monthly allotment for the migrants increases based on children and their age, with $100 being granted per month to families with children under 5 and $36 being granted to families with children between the ages of 5 and 17.
When compared to the maximum funds granted to low-income New Yorkers who receive SNAP benefits, the migrants surpass the aid given to New Yorkers, with the maximum amount given to single household SNAP recipients set at $291 a month.
