New York Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to provide unlawful migrants in the Big Apple with a credit card to purchase food — at an estimated price tag of $53 million — has been immediately met with condemnation, including from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“It sounds like insanity is behind it because it really is offensive, it may be the most reprehensible thing that I’ve seen take place over the past 48 hours,” Abbott told Fox News Business.
Tens of thousands of unlawful migrants have made their way to New York City in the last several years, with many thousands sent on buses from Texas. Abbott initiated the busing program to alleviate overwhelming numbers of unlawful migrants crossing the southern border.
“What’s going on in New York is outrageous and Americans across the country are angry, not just about what’s going on in New York, but the underlying cause for it, which is Joe Biden’s open border policies,” Abbott said.
The plan comes on the heels of a disturbing video of a group of unlawful migrants attacking and beating two police officers. Police arrested four of the suspects, who were subsequently released from jail due to the city’s no-bond policies. The four suspects were staying in New York City shelters under false names, and reportedly, shortly after their release, a faith-based charity provided bus fares for them to travel to California.
Abbott was not the only public figure disturbed by the plan to provide as much as $1,000 per month to unlawful migrants. Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who recently came out in support of former President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, broadcast his dismay to his 31 million followers on Instagram.
“WTF mayor Adams call my phone, I don’t understand how this works [shrug emoji] somebody explain,” Jackson wrote. He later added, “Maybe TRUMP is the answer,” before deleting the post.
The plan to provide credit cards is being operated by a New Jersey company called Mobility Capital Finance, and will initially provide funds for 500 unlawful migrant families. The cards are only to be used for purchasing food, something each recipient must agree to by signing an affidavit. Should they be caught using the cards for non-food items, they will reportedly be kicked out of the program.
The goal is to eventually provide cards for up to 15,000 unlawful migrants currently sheltering in hotels.
“MoCaFi looks forward to partnering with New York City to disburse funds for asylum seekers to purchase fresh, hot food,” said Mobility Capital Finance CEO and founder Wole Coaxum, per the New York Post. “MoCaFi’s goal is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers, while helping the local economy.”
