Over 7,000 migrants in NYC to receive prepaid debit cards as pilot program expands

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – New York City expanded its pilot program, increasing the number of migrants receiving prepaid debit cards to buy food and baby supplies, officials confirmed.

Since its launch on June 16, the program, which provides families with a 28-day allowance distributed in four weekly amounts, has helped 900 families, including 1,300 migrant children, buy their own food and baby supplies. Officials told WINS that, following the “success” of the initial rollout, the city is expanding the program from a small group of families in three hotels to families in 14 additional hotels.

“They can buy from local shops, support small businesses, and manage their own resources,” New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said in a statement to 1010 WINS. “When we empower people, we help them achieve self-sufficiency and access the American Dream.”

The debit cards are expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months at an estimated cost of $2.6 million, according to details obtained by the New York Times .

Mayor Eric Adams has been defending the program stating that the goal is to cut costs.

“ Whatever it takes within the law to do so, we have to do it,” Adams said during a press conference in March. “And we can't be afraid of people criticizing success. We're going to save $600 million a month. We're going to do away with food waste and we're going to put money back into the local economy.”

“There is no free money,” Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy added. “These are not ATM cards. You can't take cash out. If anyone has that idea, they are wrong. This is for food and baby supplies only.”

City officials told WINS that, besides saving money, they hope the cards will stimulate the local economy. They claim the cards cost about half as much as delivering boxes of non-perishable foods to families in hotels.

Since the start, the program has saved the city $598,000 and circulated nearly $600,000 back into the local economy, according to officials.

“Ultimately, we need the federal government to step in to finish the job they started, process more asylum applications, and put more people on a path to work,” Williams-Isom said.

The cards are loaded with an average of $12.52 per person, per day, according to city officials. Similar prepaid cards are already used by federally funded programs like SNAP and WIC to distribute benefits.

“Rather than continuing to fund expensive food provisions through a shelter system where questionable quality and food waste was a real concern, this program creates multiple solutions," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition said. "Providing asylum seekers with the means to purchase their own food and baby supplies with debit cards means those people can eat healthier, local businesses are supported, and the City saves money."