NYC to offer migrants $53M in pre-paid credit cards, report says | WJAR

by JACKSON WALKER | The National Desk

Migrants pick up blankets near a migrant assistance center at St. Brigid Elementary School on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

NEW YORK CITY (TND) — New York City will offer its surging migrant population $53 million worth of pre-paid credit cards, the New York Post reported.

The initiative of the office of Mayor Eric Adams and Mobility Capital Finance aims to assist migrants with food expenses as they await authorization to work from the federal government. Cards will only work at bodegas, grocery stores, supermarkets and convenience stores.

Recipients must sign an affidavit swearing to use the funds only for food and baby supplies or risk being removed from the program. Cards will be loaded with different amounts depending on the size of a family and whether they have income. A family of four could receive $1,000 monthly or $35 per day. Cards will be refilled every 28 days.

MoCaFi looks forward to partnering with New York City to disburse funds for asylum seekers to purchase fresh, hot food,” Mobility Capital Finance CEO Wole Coaxum said. “MoCaFi’s goal is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers, while helping the local economy.”

Though the city will begin by offering cards to a group of 500 individual, it could soon expand the program to reach the total population of migrants in the city, estimated at 15,000.

“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,” Mayor Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said.

READ MORE | Connecticut will use COVID relief funds to cancel medical debt for low-income residents

Migrants across the country are struggling to survive without a legal means to support themselves. Asylum seekers in Denver have taken to washing stopped cars at busy intersections, sparking safety concerns from local residents and police.

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