Eric Adams ends free debit card program for illegal immigrants in NYC shelters

In the wake of Donald Trump's decisive presidential win, New York Mayor Eric Adams has announced that he plans to stop giving illegal immigrants free food vouchers. The program was in place for asylum seekers paroled into the US by the Biden-Harris administration.

The move from Adams ends the pilot program that saw the city handing out debit cards to illegal immigrants staying in city shelters. The program had been in place for a year and enabled illegal immigrants to buy food. 

ABC 7, the New York affiliate, indicated that bringing the program to an end once the contract period comes to a close was anti-humanitarian. "The so-called Immediate Response Cards pilot program was designed to feed migrant families who found themselves in New York with no way to afford food. The one-year contract provided what the City described as 'culturally relevant food,'" ABC reported, "to 2,600 migrant families." Families got $350 per week.

The City had been simply providing food in shelters before this program, but that was seen as problematic because the food was not "culturally sensitive." The city has had to take in over 200,000 illegal immigrants and has been expected to provide for them as well.

Over 2 million illegal immigrants have come into the US every year since the outgoing duo took office in January 2021. Under Trump's last year in office, only 480,000 illegally crossed the border. Trump intends to begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants once he takes office officially in January.

Adams spoke to Trump on Wednesday and congratulated him on his victory. Adams was not forthcoming about the rest of the conversation.