The migrant crisis in New York is so overwhelming that the city’s homeless shelters cannot accommodate the people they are made for. It has also caused a strain on the public resources available to the citizens.
For example, Mayor Eric Adams was forced to make significant budget cuts in November, resulting in libraries closing on Saturdays. The police force would also have been reduced through attrition. Adams had also said that he faced a deficit of $1.7 billion largely due to the migrant crisis.
“Without real immigration reform and a decompression strategy at the border, there will be no end in sight,” the Mayor said.
But despite the financial toll this problem has taken on the city, officials have earmarked $ 2.4 billion to fund immigrant care. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Mayor revealed this when they unveiled the next fiscal year’s budget.
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Meanwhile, Adams announced the reversal of the earlier budget cuts and reinstatement of an April 2024 police academy class of 600. The city will also return a fifth firefighter to 20 engine companies and restore funding for 170 community schools.
Adams revealed that these changes were possible because the city had saved some money by kicking people out of shelters for a short period. “We made tough but necessary decisions about spending and savings early in the budget cycle,” he said. The estimated cost of migrant care is $1.7 billion less than it used to be.
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City officials happily accepted the extra funding from the state. They estimate the cost of caring for the migrants through the summer of 2025 to be about $10 billion. This includes the cost of food, medical care, and shelter.
Mayor Adams said he’ll collaborate with the city council to draw up a financial spending plan of about $109 billion. The plan is to implement this spending goal for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.
In December, Adams said the city helped migrants file thousands of work authorizations, asylum applications, and Temporary Protected statuses. He has appealed to federal and state governments to support migrant-related issues financially.
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Speaking on her contributions to migrant funding, Gov. Hochul said it’s the right thing to do for the city. She said, “We also know that companies won’t do business in New York if thousands of people sleep on the streets or the quality of life is dramatically impacted because the city is forced to cut essential services.”
Of course, some people, especially Republicans, have criticized Hochul’s and Adam’s handling of the migrant crisis. Hochul had suggested that the state’s earlier plan to increase financial support for school districts was no longer necessary. According to her, this proposal will reflect the decreased student enrollment rate and cash balances in the district’s possession.
According to the Republicans, Hochul’s priorities were mixed up, and school aid should never play second fiddle to migrant funding. “She is wasting billions of dollars on a self-created crisis,” Sen. George Borello, a Republican from upstate Chautauqua County, said.
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