Financial Aid to Undocumented Immigrants in the United States: $13 Dollars Daily with Debit Cards in this City

An American city will grant up to $13 dollars daily on prepaid debit cards to undocumented immigrants, official sources reported.

New York’s Initiative for Undocumented Immigrants

It has emerged that the City of New York will offer up to that amount to undocumented migrants, money that will be deposited on debit cards for the purchase of food and baby items.

The initiative, costing $53 million dollars, is part of a pilot program, the MOCaFi Partnership Pilot, that the city is launching in association with New Jersey’s Mobility Capital Finance.

Program Details and Benefits

The program, which will initially benefit about 500 migrant families housed in New York hotels, will replace the non-perishable food boxes currently given to them with cards that they can use to buy.

For 28 days, these undocumented individuals will receive the exact amount of $12.52 dollars on their cards, which they can use to purchase in supermarkets, butcher shops, and others, what they need to cover their basic food needs.

Criticism and Defense of the Initiative

This initiative has received harsh criticism, as some wonder why this money is given to undocumented individuals and not to Americans living in extreme poverty on the streets, for example.

Without answering that question, New York Mayor Erik Adams explained in a video posted on X why it would be beneficial for the people and the city.

Adams explained that this money would be back in the local economy in different establishments and that it ensures that no food is wasted because first, it will be purchased, and second, they will acquire what they want and not something that is given to them.

He also referred to the city’s money-saving aspect of this program as very important.

According to Adams, about $600,000 in taxpayer funds would be saved, which would equate to $7.2 million a year.

It would be like an investment within the city, instead of giving away, to invest in the locality and also recollect that same money in the locality.

If the figures are as precise as the authorities presuppose, then they would extend the program to the rest of the migrant families housed in New York hotels.

Despite these benefits, the program has many detractors and there have even been calls for an investigation into the MOCaFi Partnership Pilot.