Empire State Governor Kathy Hochul has quietly made changes to New York’s “Safety Net Assistance” program that will make thousands of illegal migrants eligible for cash payments.
The changes will allow non-citizens who have pending applications for asylum to receive benefits, making thousands of migrants eligible for the payments, according to a report from The New York Post and confirmed by Fox News Digital.
From Fox News:
The move was made through the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which sent a message to social services agencies in the state, the report notes, though the agency would not say how many migrants are currently receiving payments.
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, an OTDA spokesperson said just a “small portion” of the $4.3 billion the governor set aside for the migrant crisis has been used for the payments, estimating that about 90% of the current migrant population in the state would not be eligible for the benefits under the new rules.
“At the request of New York City, OTDA made a technical update to allow a small percentage of migrants to receive certain additional support in compliance with state and federal law,” the spokesperson said.
[elementor-template id="1446"]But the report notes that over 173,000 migrants have made their way to New York City alone since 2022, meaning that if 10% of them were receiving payments it would amount to about 17,000 recipients in the city alone.
More over at Fox News:
New York rule change makes thousands of migrants eligible for cash payments https://t.co/Pd1KrURe0F
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 19, 2024