Despite a recent decrease in the number of undocumented immigrants flowing into New York, the city has been facing significant expenses to accommodate this immigration surge. Data shows that as of April this year, New York City has already spent over $5 billion on incoming immigrants, and it is estimated that by 2025, this expenditure will double to $10 billion.
According to data released by the New York City government’s “Asylum Seeker Fund Tracker,” the city spent a total of $1.45 billion in the fiscal year of 2023, and is projected to spend a total of $3.7 billion in the upcoming fiscal year of 2024, totaling around $5.15 billion. Of this amount, approximately $2.08 billion is allocated for housing, rent, and initial renovation costs, while around $2.077 billion is dedicated to immigrant services and supplies.
The New York Post reported that there are still over 63,900 new immigrants in the city’s shelter system consisting of 210 shelters. The accommodation expenses are borne by the city, and these expenditures have been steadily increasing.
This week, the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) issued two contracts to contractors with a total value of $40 million to convert hotels into emergency shelters for undocumented immigrants.
Additionally, additional costs related to security are incurred for the new immigrants, such as dealing with disturbances in and around immigrant shelters. The New York City Police Department alone has spent $21 million on public safety and security. The cost of this crisis is nearly equivalent to the entire budget of $5.75 billion of the New York City Police Department.
Data on funding sources indicates that, from fiscal year 2023 to 2025, the expenses on new incoming immigrants will be collectively provided as $6.7 billion by New York City, $3.1 billion by the state of New York, and $195 million by the federal government. So far, the federal government has only paid $49 million.