New York City’s migrant crisis will cost “at least” $596 million in public funds each year, according to a Monday report from the city’s Independent Budget Office.
City Hall will rack up the costs thanks to offering shelter, healthcare, education and legal aid to thousands of migrants who have been bussed to the city by Republican state governments in Florida and Texas, according to the New York Post.
The arrival of an additional 10,000 asylum seekers — assuming the current mix of households remains consistent — would increase costs by around $246 million,” IBO Acting Director George Sweeting wrote in the report.
“The total cost of providing the identified city services cannot be estimated with certainty as the number of people arriving continues to evolve,” he added.
Republican governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have dispatched dozens of busses full of asylum seekers to Democrat-run cities across the country. The program has primarily targeted Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago.
The governors defend the policy by arguing it is the only way to confront those in power with the realities of the border crisis, which has overwhelmed many Texas cities.
MIGRANT BUS ARRIVES NEAR VP KAMALA HARRIS’ DC RESIDENCE, MORE REACH NYC
“In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,” Abbott said in August.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency over the migrant crisis in October as the city struggled to house some 17,000 asylum seekers.
“This is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South America and is being accelerated by American political dynamics,” Adams said at the time. “Thousands of asylum seekers have been bussed into New York City and simply dropped off, without notice, coordination, or care — and more are arriving every day.”
New York has resorted to drastic measures to house the migrants, going so far as to re-purpose some hotels.
