NYC to stop giving migrants prepaid debit cards for food, report says

New York City reportedly announced Thursday it is ending its controversial program giving migrants prepaid debit cards for food and other supplies.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams's office said it will not renew the "immediate response cards pilot program," according to . The program directed funds toward migrant families in the city's Housing Preservation and Development system that were living in hotels.

The city awarded an emergency contract to Mobility Capital Finance at the end of January to launch the program, but will not renew the agreement, the spokesperson reportedly said.

"As we move towards more competitive contracting for asylum seeker programs, we have chosen not to renew the emergency contract for this pilot program once the one-year term concludes," CBS New York quoted the spokesperson as saying.

The contract, which was for $53 million, helped the city "redirect" money to the local economy while providing "culturally relevant" food to more than 2,600 migrant families, the spokesperson reportedly noted.

"Thanks to our resettlement efforts, intensive case management, and national-leading Asylum Application Help Center, more than 160,000 migrants have left our shelter system and taken their next steps towards self-sufficiency," the statement reads, according to CBS New York.

Power Malu, whom the news outlet described as a "migrant advocate," reportedly expressed concern over the quality of food that families in the program will receive once the contract expires.

"I am worried about these families 'cause we're gonna go right back to where we were in the beginning when families used to come to me and say, 'I'm getting frozen meals at the shelters, I'm getting these boxed meals with just crackers and sandwiches, and this is all I'm getting,'" CBS New York quoted Malu as saying.

However, the New York State Republican Party celebrated New York City's move Friday as a "step in the right direction." A spokesperson said both the city and state must also "immediately stop spending taxpayer money to house illegal immigrants in luxury hotels and public facilities," as well as "prepare to cooperate with the Trump administration to remove from the country anyone here illegally."

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