News/Commentary

More outrage as NYC prepaid card program could give migrants $15K a year as US taxpayers pony up

February 21, 2024 | | Print Article

A new payout program to illegal aliens in New York City could allow families to rake in over $15,000 a year as more details emerge about the controversial scheme.

The $53 million pilot program to pass out refillable pre-paid debit cards to newly arrived foreign nationals in the Big Apple sparked criticism as the city is struggling to deal with the growing population of illegals who have strained resources and angered residents.

While details have been hard to come by with the city being largely tight-lipped over the boondoggle, the New York Post is reporting that under the Immediate Response Card program, a family of four Illegals with two children under 17 years old could receive up to $15,200 a year.

Citing data from a breakdown chart provided by city officials, the outlet reported that the freebies range from $345 per month for a single person up to $2,203 for a family of eight migrants. A family of four could get $1,195 every month which can be used at grocery stores, convenience stores, and bodegas.

Pregnant women could receive an additional $36 a month under the initiative.

“A start date has yet to be set for the program, which will initially roll out to 500 newly arrived families at the Roosevelt Hotel — but could expand to include a maximum of 6,500 families if it proves successful, officials said,” the Post reported. “The city didn’t provide an exact make-up of the 500 families that are to be included in the pilot, or say how many individuals would be included in that group.”

“Wow!” wrote billionaire owner Elon Musk on the X platform, sharing a post from a user of a Fox Business report on New York City’s program.

The program came under immediate criticism over its potential for abuse with the cards which will be refilled every month and the only safeguard being that the recipients “must sign an affidavit swearing they will only spend the funds on food and baby supplies or they will be kicked out of the program,” the New York Post previously reported.

(Video: YouTube/Fox 5 New York)

There is also the matter of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ relationship with Wole Coaxum, the founder of Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFI), the Newark-based financial institution that scored the no-bid contract,

“There is no relationship other than a professional relationship,” Adams said at a City Hall press briefing when asked about the ties. “We don’t hang out in the Hamptons together or go to the baseball game together.”

“MoCaFi looks forward to partnering with New York City to disburse funds for asylum seekers to purchase fresh, hot food,” Coaxum said. “MoCaFi’s goal is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers while helping the local economy.”

“Not only will this provide families with the ability to purchase fresh food for their culturally relevant diets and the baby supplies of their choosing, but the pilot program is expected to save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million annually,” Kayla Mamelak a spokesperson for Hizzoner said, according to the New York Post.

For a city already struggling with the influx of illegals it’s hard to see how the free money isn’t going to add to the problem by enticing even more to head to Gotham.

Chris Donaldson
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