NYC launches pre-paid credit cards for migrant families

NEW YORK - Questions are mounting around the new pilot program that will give migrant families a reloadable pre-paid credit card to buy food and supplies. 

The mayor's office says the city is partnering with Mobility Capital Finance to launch a new, more cost-effective technology pilot program to distribute the so-called Immediate Response Cards.

The program would replace the non-perishable food boxes given to migrant families staying in hotels like the Roosevelt.

Right now, the city has contracts with food services that help to provide food boxes to shelters.

The program will start with 500 migrant families with children already living in short-term hotels.

City officials said that if the pilot program is a success, they would consider expanding the program to all migrant families staying in hotels.

The cards can only be used at bodegas, grocery stores, supermarkets and convenience stores.

The amount on the card would depend on the family's size and any income they may have. 

What are critics saying?

Critics are calling the move an offense on taxpayers. 

"We're just giving this migrant population more free stuff at the expense of New York City taxpayers," Councilman Joe Borelli told FOX 5 NY. 

But the mayor's office claims that the program would save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million.

Will these pre-paid credit cards cost New Yorkers? 

According to the New York Post, this pilot program will cost the city $53 million.

MoCaFi CEO and Founder, Wole Coaxum said that "MoCaFi’s goal is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers, while helping the local economy. It is an honor to be a part of the effort to welcome and support asylum seekers as they begin to plant their roots in this country."  

Food for migrants

New York City faces an overwhelming demand for food, and there have been many reports of food being wasted at local shelters.

City council has held hearings examining the quality of meals being served at local shelters, and according to reports, the food at some has been spoiled and rotten.

Mayor Adams' office says that this program would not only save the city money, but it would provide families with the ability to purchase fresh food based on their "culturally relevant diets."

"I'm not going to be thankful that a program that was bloated and inefficient is somehow cheaper to just give away free money to people in the hopes that they feed themselves," Councilman Joe Borelli said. 

RELATED: NYC Mayor Adams defends city's handling of migrant meals: 'Is it going to be filet mignon? No'

Borelli thinks the city is setting migrants up for failure. 

Immigration advocate Power Malu thinks the city is deflecting. 

"Purchasing food at the supermarket is not cheap anymore, and on top of that, they don't have kitchens, so how are they going to purchase the food that they want? Malu said. 

What are the benefits? 

According to the Mayor's office, the pre-paid credit cards would:

• Give migrants the ability to purchase fresh food for their culturally relevant diets and supplies of their choosing
• Save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million annually.

Families who sign up for the program will be required to sign an affidavit confirming that they will be using these cards for the intended purposes, and the city says anyone who violates the terms risk being removed from the pilot program.