Opinion
New York City has launched a $53 million program to provide pre-paid debit cards to illegal immigrants, allowing them to spend the funds in local bodegas.
Illegal aliens staying at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan will be given pre-paid cards to spend on food and will reportedly only work at bodegas, grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.
The program offers different amounts to families depending on their size and whether they have an income. A family of four could receive up to $1,000 monthly, or $35 per day, to spend on food and baby supplies. The cards will be refilled every 28 days.
One would imagine that there are a good number of New Yorkers themselves who would benefit from a $1,000/month food and grocery stipend.
RELATED: Shock Video Shows Illegal Immigrants Assault NYPD Officers – They Were Released Without Bail
Celebrating Debit Cards For Illegal Immigrants
Mayor Eric Adams’ office claims that the program will actually save the city money as an alternative to providing meals in the hotel. They are, of course, having the hotel room paid for as well and now they can go out in the city and spend taxpayer money on their groceries.
Readers of The Political Insider may recall that the Adams administration provided shelters for illegal immigrants in 2022 complete with television sets, Xbox gaming consoles, and “culturally appropriate” meals.
They have lived better in an unaffordable city than some of the city’s own residents.
New York City is opening its first migrant “tent shelter.”
The amenities are stunning: flat screen TVs, Xbox video games, laundry services.@jasonrantz talks about it on @Varneyco. pic.twitter.com/1uXB8sQm8b
— AM 770 KTTH 🎙 (@770KTTH) October 19, 2022
The New York Post reports that this $53 million program is a pilot effort offered to about 500 illegal immigrant families but could expand to roughly 15,000 currently staying in hotels across NYC.
And, in case you were concerned, the mayor’s office is once again making sure the illegal aliens are able to use these prepaid debit cards for their culturally stringent meals.
“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,” Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said.
Adams, you may recall, estimated that the illegal immigrant crisis will cost New Yorkers $12 billion by mid-2025 (roughly one year away from today), a figure that he said “will destroy” the city.
For those of us with calculators, the $7.2 million in savings amounts to 0.06% of the $12 billion estimate. They’re bragging about saving 0.06% of an amount they said will ruin the city and those who live there. Is dropping the price tag from $12 billion to $11.99 billion going to save New York City?
RELATED: Furious New Yorkers Scream At AOC Over Illegal Immigrant Crisis: ‘Send Them Back!’
They Promise To Use Them Properly
Perhaps the most amusing part of the program providing debit cards to illegal immigrants – or the tragic part, depending on your vantage point – is that the city is relying on people who entered the country illegally to essentially pinky swear that they will use the money appropriately.
To ensure the funds are used appropriately, recipients must sign an affidavit swearing to use the money only for food and baby supplies or risk being removed from the program.
They didn’t respect laws to get there but they are definitely going to follow the rules on this money-grabbing pilot program, for sure.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stood in front of the very same Roosevelt Hotel just a few short months ago and tried to sell residents of the city on how important it is to make sure the illegal aliens inside have “all the resources” necessary.
She and her Democrat colleagues were immediately shut down and forced to cut the press conference short, due to angry residents shouting “Send them back!”
AOC gets an appropriate welcome from pissed off New Yorkers who don’t want their city turned into a migrant dumping ground. pic.twitter.com/OOueC2kd7V
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 15, 2023
We’d be curious how those same people might react to the news that illegal immigrants in that very hotel will be getting $1,000 pre-paid debit cards with what is essentially their taxpayer money loaded onto them.
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