NYC ends taxpayer-funded prepaid debit card program for illegal immigrants

New York City is ending a program that provided prepaid debit cards to migrant families living in the sanctuary city.

In a statement obtained by FOX 5 New York, Adams announced the end of the immediate response cards pilot program.

"Through the immediate response cards pilot program, we were able to reduce food waste, redirect millions of dollars to our local economy, and provide more culturally relevant food to more than 2,600 migrant families in our care," Adams said. "As we move towards more competitive contracting for asylum seeker programs, we have chosen not to renew the emergency contract for this pilot program once the one-year term concludes."

New York City officials began giving out prepaid debit cards to migrant families residing in the Big Apple earlier this year. The prepaid cards – the first of which were distributed in March as part of the city's Immediate Response Cards (IRC) program – are meant to be used only to purchase essential items like food.

The mayor’s office previously said access to the program is limited to those in a separate program that provides four-week hotel stays for families with children, and families expecting children.

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Migrants reach for food being handed out outside the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, Aug. 2, 2023.  (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Allowances for illegal immigrants residing in the city are distributed on a weekly basis until the end of their four-week hotel stays, with families of four with two children under the age of five receiving up to nearly $350 each week.

Officials said the program would save the city about $600,000 per month, and $7.2 million per year.

New York City, which has been overwhelmed by more than 200,000 migrant arrivals since 2022, has been providing settlement options to migrants since that time. Last year, it opened a re-ticketing center to offer one-way plane tickets to migrants.

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Migrants stand in front of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, which was converted into a city-run shelter in 2023. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Late last month, Fox News confirmed that 4,500 migrants had been sent back to Texas using bus or plane tickets purchased by the city, which was first reported by Bloomberg News.

According to Mayor Eric Adams’ office, the top five destinations for migrants leaving the Big Apple are Texas, Illinois, Florida, New York State and Colorado.

In total, they have issued more than 47,000 tickets and roughly 4,500 have gone to Texas. It was not clear how many of those migrants had come from buses sent to NYC from Texas. 

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary cities in 2022, in what he said was an effort to relieve pressure on the overwhelmed border communities. 

Abbott said he chose sanctuary cities – cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement – because he said they encouraged the crisis.

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Morris, Adam Shaw and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.