New York City is spending more than any other municipality in the nation in attempting to grapple with its current migrant crisis. The Big Apple has seen more than 125,000 migrants arrive in the city since last year and is running out of public space and hotels to place them as its political and budgetary crisis grows worse.
An analysis of New York’s approach to the migrant situation has found several surprising statistics. First, the city is spending about $40,000 per migrant to care for them.
Furthermore, the city has seen a much larger increase in migrants as previously expected. New York estimated earlier this year that approximately 100,000 migrants had arrived since the previous year. Earlier this month, New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) said that the number reached 110,000.
A closer analysis using information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) found the number is likely larger than 125,000.
The mayor estimated that the city will spend $5 billion caring for migrants by the end of this year. When averaged out, the total spending on each migrant will be just under the $40,000 figure.
The city estimates that it will spend about $12 billion in migrant care over the next three years.
$12B NYC migrant crisis relied on almost every city agency to help — even making the arts distribute clothes: report https://t.co/NdaB93N659 via @nypmetro
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) September 16, 2023
A number of left-wing political leaders called for the city or state to impose new taxes to help cover the cost of caring for the migrants.
State Sen. Jabari Brisport (D-NY) said that he and others were “still organizing to tax the rich through the same revenue-raising bills we’ve been fighting for for years.”
Earlier this week protesters shouted at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) during a press event to “close the border.”
Further protests have broken out across the city in recent months, especially against a plan to open a former airfield as a migrant resettlement site.
This is not the first time that New York City has faced a severe budget crisis. However, this is the worst situation the city has faced in about five decades.
During the 1970s, New York teetered on bankruptcy following a wave of crime and expansion of public welfare programs. As residents fled the city, New York received a considerable bailout from the federal government to avoid default.
