In the wake of the massive influx of migrants arriving in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams went so far as to declare that they were "on the brink of bankruptcy" and "out of space." The situation led him to repeatedly confront the federal government for sending additional funds to survive the immigration crisis. Joe Biden announced that his administration would send 100 million dollars to the Big Apple.
Although the money had already been approved a while ago, the formal shipment was delayed due to a delay with the paperwork.
Mayor Adams previously took aim at the Biden Administration over its handling of the border, the consequences of which will cost the city about $10 billion over the next fiscal year.
"Even if we had gotten $150 million, we would have a price tag of $4 billion," Adams said.
As reported by The New York Daily News, the money will be allocated to the housing crisis for immigrants, food and social services that illegal immigrants have taken advantage of.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he worked to get the funds delivered as quickly as possible.
"The aid — which has sat untouched since Congress first allocated it last summer — is at long last being authorized for disbursement to the city after Adams' administration provided the feds last Friday with required budgetary documentation as well as a waiver asking the feds to relax a cap on how much of the money can be used on hotel costs," Schumer's office expressed.
How much does New York spend per migrant?
The New York City Council recently revealed that it spends $387 per day per migrant to support the 64,800 people who have arrived in New York City since November 2022.
The figure corresponds to February and is five dollars less than October, when the maximum spending point was reached. At that time, each migrant cost Adams' government $391 per day.
"In the last two months, Mayor Adams has laid out plans to save billions of taxpayer dollars as New York City manages a national humanitarian crisis, and the numbers show that our efforts are working," a City Hall spokesman told The New York Post on Tuesday.
To further reduce costs, the mayor asked local agencies to cut spending by 5% in November and then another 5% in January in response to the migrant crisis.
