New York City to End Controversial Debit Card Program for Migrant Families
In a significant policy shift, New York City officials announced on Thursday that they will be discontinuing a contentious program that provided debit cards to migrant families for food purchases. This pilot initiative, which was launched in February, has faced criticism since its inception, with many questioning the potential for misuse of the cards and expressing concerns about the fairness of prioritizing migrants over other vulnerable populations in need.
Mayor Eric Adams has been a staunch defender of the program, arguing that it was intended to reduce the costs associated with feeding migrants and to offer them a broader selection of healthier food options available at supermarkets and bodegas. However, the city’s administration has opted not to renew the one-year contract awarded to Mobility Capital Finance, commonly known as MoCaFi, which was initially granted on a no-bid emergency basis.
Compounding the situation, the city’s Department of Investigation is currently looking into the contract with MoCaFi, as reported by The New York Daily News in October. While announcing the decision to end the program, Mayor Adams did not address the ongoing investigation. Instead, he emphasized that due to the city’s “constant decrease in our population” of migrants, it was unnecessary to continue with an emergency contract. “It was an emergency, and now we’re moving in another direction,” he stated during an appearance on WABC-TV, asserting that the program had achieved its intended goals.
Since 2022, over 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City, although the pace of new arrivals has slowed in recent months. The program had benefited more than 2,600 migrant families residing in city-funded hotels, according to William Fowler, a spokesperson for the mayor.
Under the terms of the initiative, a family of four with young children received approximately $350 weekly for a month, with the option for renewal. To date, the city has allocated about $3.6 million to the program, of which $3.2 million was loaded onto the debit cards and $400,000 was paid to MoCaFi.
Wole Coaxum, the chief executive of MoCaFi, expressed pride in the company’s efforts to support migrant families, stating that their work aligns with the mission to ensure the efficient utilization of taxpayer dollars. Notably, Mr. Coaxum is an ally of Mayor Adams, having met with him during his “mayoral classes” prior to taking office, and he had previously donated $250 to Adams’s mayoral campaign in 2020. In an interview earlier this year, Mr. Coaxum remarked that he appreciated Adams’s campaign message and emphasized that there was “no expectation” for the donation to sway the mayor’s decisions.
In February, Mayor Adams highlighted that MoCaFi’s objectives resonated with two of his key priorities: leveraging technology to enhance city services and fostering the inclusion of women- and minority-owned businesses in city contracts.
Amidst growing scrutiny over spending on migrant services, especially following complications with a no-bid, $432 million contract with DocGo, a medical services provider, the city plans to revert to distributing meals to families residing in hotels through an existing contract with Garner Environmental Services. Recently, Justin Brannan, a City Council member from Brooklyn and chair of the finance committee, raised concerns regarding Garner Environmental Services in a letter directed to both the state and city comptroller.
