Here's how much it costs NYC to care for a single migrant
NEW YORK - The per diem rate for a single migrant household is $5 more than previously cited in 2023.
It now costs $388 per day for NYC to house and care for a single migrant household, according to Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park in a City Council hearing Monday.
This includes shelter and food.
The price is up from the amount NYC Mayor Eric Adams previously cited in August, but down from a peak per diem rate of $394.00 in October, according to Adams's spokesperson Charles Lutvak.
Those costs add up rather quickly when considering that more than 64,000 asylum seekers remain in the city's care as of October 2024.
"I absolutely think that we will see changes in the asylum number as there is a push to manage costs down," Park testified.
In August, as the city neared the arrival of 100,000 asylum seekers (now more than 180,000), Adams warned of the costs if state and federal governments did not take swift action.
At that point, the city predicted that the crisis would cost more than $12 billion through July 2025, without state and federal support.
source: nyc.gov
Around $156 million has been allocated by the federal government for the ongoing migrant crisis, but the city says it's only received roughly a third of these funds ($49 million).
The city's budget director Jacques Jiha, cited the overly burdensome application requirements needed to receive the aid.
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City officials said that if the pilot program is a success, they would consider expanding the program to all migrant families staying in hotels.
Last month, mayor Adams said the city budget was stabilizing, after threats of a third round of budget cuts due to the ongoing migrant crisis.
In the first two rounds, city agencies like the NYPD, Department of Education and Sanitation departments were left to compensate for nearly $4 billion in cuts.
Instead, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said the city would cut funding for migrants even further.
Adams said the administration would slash an additional 10% in migrant spending (for a total of 30%) after the 20% reduction announced in the preliminary budget.
source: nyc.gov
It was previously thought that the city's migrant crisis could cost taxpayers $12 billion by July 1, 2025.
In August, Mayor Adams said the city would end up spending more on migrants than it does on the Fire, Parks, and Sanitation Departments combined.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams also introduced "immediate response cards" citing that the prepaid cards would end up saving the city money.
Dozens of clergy members will head to Washington D.C. Tuesday to lobby lawmakers for federal assistance to offset the costs of the migrant crisis.
Reverend Edward Richard Hines, a minister from Brooklyn, says he and other faith leaders from all 5 boroughs will meet with New York's senators on the issue as well.