Opinion
New York City launched a $53 million program to provide pre-paid debit cards to illegal immigrants earlier this month.
According to an analysis of the contract by the New York Post, the initial number is just a fee for the pilot program, while the contract allows for debit cards to be issued as high as $10,000 per illegal alien at a cost of $2.5 billion annually.
“One misperception is that the program allows the city to give out just $50 million to migrants,” Post columnist Nicole Gelinas writes.
Gelinas, a financial analyst and senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute for Policy, describes the debit card program as “an open-ended, multibillion-dollar Bermuda Triangle of disappearing, untraceable cash, used for any purpose.”
“It will give migrants up to $10,000 each in taxpayer money with no ID check, no restrictions and no fraud control,” she writes.
RELATED: Illegal Aliens Get $53 Million In Pre-Paid Debit Cards From NYC
Illegal Immigrant Debit Card Program – $10,000 Each
While it comes as no surprise that a government program would be more costly than initially estimated, the details of the contract seem to have been presented rather deceptively by New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office.
When initial reports indicated that the debit card program for illegal immigrants would cost $53 million, the public was outraged, but Adams’ people presented it as a money saver.
“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.
Daily Mail explains that “the $53 million is not the total cost,” but rather, just a fee to the bank for its services.
“City Hall has actually given itself the flexibility to disburse at least $2.5 billion on the pre-paid debit cards over a year,” it continues.
The absurdity of the program is in the details.
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NYC Making Them Promise Not To Abuse The Program
New York City is paying a $53 million fee to implement a program with an “open-ended” contract to disburse at least $2.5 billion on pre-paid debit cards to illegal immigrants over a single year.
All to save “$7.2 million annually,” according to the Mayor’s office.
And that’s if the program goes smoothly and there is no fraud. Fortunately, New York City is very serious about eliminating waste and fraud from the program by relying on people who entered the country illegally to essentially pinky swear that they will use the debit cards appropriately.
To ensure the funds are used properly, recipients must sign an affidavit swearing to use the money only for food and baby supplies or risk being removed from the program.
In other words, they promise not to take advantage of unenforced rules and laws, despite their entire presence here being an effort to take advantage of unenforced rules and laws.
Well, at least the city has contracted an experienced bank to run the program and ensure problems are minimized.
Oh, wait.
“What kind of experience did MoCaFi (Mobility Capital Finance) bring to this complex endeavor?” Gelinas reports. “None.”
MoCaFi was given a no-bid contract. The founder of the financial institution previously claimed that the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 inspired him to serve the “underbanked” and “narrow the racial wealth gap.”
The details of the debit card program for illegal aliens are far worse than initially reported, and certainly won’t dissuade those whom Adams once claimed would “destroy” the city from coming.
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