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NYC Mayor considers budget cuts due to immigration crisis.

New York ⁣City Mayor Announces Budget Cuts Amid Immigration Crisis

New York City Mayor⁢ Eric Adams on Saturday announced potential budget cuts of at least five percent across all city agencies, amid an illegal immigration crisis in the Big Apple. His office also announced it’s taking ​other efforts to reduce costs.

Mr. Adams‍ cited “the convergence of circumstances threatening New York City’s financial stability” for the steps his administration is taking to balance‍ the⁣ city’s budget, as required by law.

“Because the city has been forced to ⁣bear most costs of the asylum seeker ⁢humanitarian crisis at a time when revenue growth is slowing‌ and COVID-19 stimulus funding is sunsetting, the city faces substantial fiscal ‍disruption if circumstances do not change,” his office stated.

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The mayor⁢ is calling for every city agency to plan to reduce spending by 5 percent⁣ for the ​November ‌budget, then another 5 percent for the‌ January budget, and ⁤yet⁢ another 5 percent for the April budget.

Specifically, his administration is “asking all of our agencies to submit a plan to reduce their⁢ city-funded spending in each ⁢year of our financial plan by five percent for our upcoming November budget update; by another five percent in January’s preliminary budget; and ⁤by a final five percent in April’s executive budget,” Mr. Adams said⁤ in a video address to‍ New Yorkers on Saturday.

About 10,000 illegal immigrants seeking asylum are “still arriving each month,” which puts the estimated ⁣costs‌ for taxpayers at⁢ “$12⁣ billion over three fiscal years,” his office stated.

Reducing Costs of ⁤Caring for​ Illegal ⁤Immigrants

New York City has taken in about 112,000 illegal immigrants ⁣since spring 2022 with ⁤nearly 60,000 temporarily living in government shelters.

“While ‍our compassion is ​limitless, our resources are not,” Mr. Adams told New Yorkers.

“While the⁢ city’s recovery and​ economy are strong,⁢ we ​face slowing revenue growth and COVID stimulus funding that‍ has supported education​ and social services programs sunsets next fiscal year. But the money has to come from somewhere. … ‌In this ‌context, and to secure our city’s financial future, unless the economy performs better than⁤ expected, we are forced to consider significant‌ cost-saving ⁣measures.”

The administration is also ⁢looking at‍ various ways to reduce the costs of caring⁢ for ⁤the illegal immigrants, ‌noting that it is “actively working to reduce housing and other costs by transitioning migrants out of the shelter ⁣system and humanitarian emergency response and relief centers to more cost-effective ⁢shelter.”

In ⁣July, the city announced that it‌ would give illegal immigrants 60 days’ notice to find⁣ alternate housing and move out of the shelters they had been provided with. “We have no more room ⁢in this city,” Mr. Adams said at the time.

Hundreds of illegal immigrants seeking asylum line for Immigration Customs Enforcement appointments outside of the Jacob K. Javits Federal ‌Building in New York City, on June 6, 2023. (David Dee⁢ Delgado/Getty Images)

‘There Will Not Be Layoffs’

The mayor’s office said on Saturday that the administration “will‌ seek to minimize disruption⁤ to programs and services,​ and ‌there will not be layoffs.”

“For the better part of the year now, I‍ have been clear that‍ these costs will impact every city service,” Mr. Adams said. While I have instructed my ‌team to work closely with city agencies to reduce the impact that these cuts may have on New Yorkers who rely on our services, the simple truth is that long time New ⁤Yorkers and asylum seekers will feel these potential cuts, and they will hurt.”

He added: “We can still avoid these cuts if Washington and Albany do their ⁢part of paying their fair ‍share and coming up with decompression strategy that reduces the pressure on ‍New York City so we are ⁣not forced to manage this crisis almost entirely​ on our own. … This is a‍ national crisis that requires national leadership. It’s time for our partners to join us.”

New ‍York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ⁢administration​ has already allocated $1.5 billion in state ⁤aid



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