Blue City Reportedly Giving Migrants $4,000 Cash Payments, Gift Cards To Move Out Of Shelters

New York City is giving out payments and gift cards to migrants to obtain permanent housing and move out of city-operated shelters, Fox News Digital reported on Saturday.

The NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) offered 150 families $4,000 each through the Asylee Moveout Assistance (AMA) program to pay for housing, as well as up to $1,000 in gift cards for necessities and moving expenses, according to Fox News Digital. The AMA program pilot began in December 2023 in partnership with city shelters that housed asylum seekers.

“The city is using every tool at its disposal to implement innovative and cost-effective solutions to help recently-arrived asylum seekers residing in shelters take the next steps in their journey,” a Department of Social Services (DSS) spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Since December, DSS has been working with a few not-for-profit providers operating emergency sites to pilot a new effort to reduce barriers to obtaining housing by helping asylum-seeking families who have identified permanent housing with the upfront cost of moving into their new home.”

To be eligible for the payouts, the migrants must be asylum seekers or pregnant women in select DHS shelters who have identified permanent housing, according to Fox News Digital. The $4,000 can cover security deposits, moving expenses, first and last month’s rent and household necessities.

“This is a very small pilot only available to asylum-seeking families in select emergency shelters operated by DHS,” the DSS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “This is not a citywide effort and not available to migrant families residing across the shelter system,”

Migrants who return to the shelters would not be eligible to receive the payment again, according to Fox News Digital. The funding for the program comes from existing funds within the agency and no city funding is used, the DSS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Since the spring of 2022, at least 201,200 migrants have come to New York City, with more than 65,000 in the care of the city, ABC 7 reported in June. New York City has spent $4.6 billion on projects, a city spokesperson told the outlet.

The DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.