How Draining Has Biden's Border Crisis Been on New York City?
Are there any bites left in the Big Apple?
Looking at New York City today and the manner in which its elected leaders have handled the migrant crisis, it is hard to believe it is the same city that built the Erie Canal 200 years ago. Understand, the Erie Canal was completed ahead of schedule, under budget, and considered an economic marvel for reducing shipping time from New York to Buffalo from three weeks to 8 days, it put us on the map as AmeriCANs!
Contrast that to today, where the city is offering $4,000 a month to over 64,000 illegal aliens in an attempt to induce them to leave its shelters. Perhaps New Yorkers are waking up to the notion that the city’s services should be for its citizens and not illegal immigrants. If official government documents are any indicator, they may still be sleepwalking, as they can’t seem to gather the gumption to call these new arrivals illegal aliens, preferring to use the term “asylum seekers.”
It is believed over 210,000 illegal aliens have made their way to New York City since 2022. The city’s mayor, Eric Adams estimates that providing healthcare, housing, education, and government benefits to illegal aliens has cost them billions of dollars over the past three years.
Although Mayor Eric Adams has decried the costs, he has both been unable to roll back or change current policy championed by progressives and liberals. Truth be told, his administration has spent its time and efforts generously assisting illegals, while also placing the blame (correctly) on the Biden-Harris administration.
Let’s break down those costs.
Total Cost
The cost for New York City for housing, food, health care, and other services for recently arrived illegal aliens is $12 billion over the next three years.
So far, the city has already spent $5 billion just in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
The two biggest categories were healthcare and housing, both at $1.7 billion during those two fiscal years.
New York City Spending on “Asylum Seekers”
Fiscal Year 2023: $1.47 billion
Fiscal Year 2024: $3.80 billion
Fiscal Year 2025: $4.70 billion
Fiscal Year 2026: $4.00 billion
Fiscal Year 2027: $3.00 billion
Fiscal Year 2028: $850 million
Cost of Healthcare
Healthcare became the largest category of city spending for “asylum seekers,” growing 173% from $469 million to $1.28 billion between fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024.
Healthcare spending is in orange from New York’s State Comptroller’s office in the stacked bar chart below.
The reason being illegals can get free healthcare services such as “emergency care, basic health care, check-ups, and immunizations” from a NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) location.
Additionally, in 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law granting Medicaid for illegals over 65, which began January 1, 2024.
Progressive activists are now pushing Medicaid coverage for all, which does not mean Medicaid for all American citizens. Rather, it’s Medicaid for all illegal immigrants. The bill calling for “publicly subsidized programs for individuals who currently face barriers to health care coverage due to their immigration status” passed the New York state Senate on May 15, 2024, 40-21, on a party-line vote, with one Democrat, Simcha Felder, voting against.
Cost of Housing
Another major cost comes from New York City’s right to shelter, which came from court decisions stating New York had a legal obligation to provide shelter for homeless men in the 1970s and 1980s.
New York City is currently housing 65,000 illegal immigrants in hotels and shelters, with hotels receiving $139 to $185 per night to house illegals as part of its Sanctuary Hotel Program.
Some hotels are receiving up to $385 a night.
Cost of Education
Nearly 40,000 migrant children have been enrolled in New York City since July 2022.
New York City spent $35,914 per child during the 2021-22 school year, meaning the one-year cost of educating 40,000 children is $1.4 billion.
Cost of Cash Assistance
Government Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams worked to circumvent the federal prohibition on illegals receiving welfare by directly providing cash assistance benefits themselves.
The Adams administration will give out pre-loaded debit cards to illegals, handing up to $18,200 per family per year.
Conclusion
The financial generosity of the Adams administration, coupled with his inability to convince the New York City Council to revoke sanctuary city status and the right to shelter, means the cost of mass immigration will only continue to balloon. The question being, WHEN WILL THEY WAKE UP?