NYC Begins Distributing Prepaid Debit Cards to Migrants

By Hamodia Staff

New York City began distributing prepaid debit cards to migrants Tuesday, FOX5 NY reported.

The first round of “Immediate Response Cards,” distributed by staffers from Mobility Capital Finance, are being given out to families staying at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.

Migrants, most of whom are from Venezuela and other poverty-stricken Latin American countries, have arrived in droves to the city after crossing the southern Mexican border and being bussed in from Texas and other states.

The city has opted to dispense the debit cards, which will cost $53 million, despite reports of food being wasted at shelters.

Mayor Eric Adams and city officials say that the program will save the city money and allow families to buy food based on their “culturally relevant diets.”

Under the program, which is designed to replace the non-perishable food boxes that were given to families, a family of four will receive up to $350 per week. FOX5 NY quoted Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams, as saying that every individual will receive $12.52 every day for 28 days.

The first migrants to receive the cards will be 500 families living in hotels. If the program reaches its stated goals, the city will expand it to all migrant families.

“This is going to be part of our cost-saving measures. We’re going to save $600,000 a month, $7.2 million a year,” Adams told FOX5 NY last month.