New York stopped issuing prepaid debit cards to immigrants

(CNN) – A pilot program that distributed prepaid debit cards to migrants in New York City that stopped in January, city officials said Thursday.

The one-year contract for the program expires in January and will not be renewed, according to a statement from City Hall obtained by CNN affiliate Spectrum News NY1.

“As we move toward more competitive contracts for asylum seeker programs, we have decided not to renew the emergency contract for this pilot program once the one-year term is over,” a City Hall spokesperson said in the statement.

Families of four with two children under the age of 5 received $350 a week for food and baby supplies under the program, according to NY1, which said the fintech company Mobility Capital Finance received about $400,000 under an emergency no-bid contract to implement the program. period of one year.

The New York Daily News reported last month that the city’s Department of Investigation was investigating the no-bid contract awarded last year.

The program began as the city dealt with an influx of migrants and asylum seekers, including many who entered by the thousands from Texas and other Republican-controlled states.

It has helped more than 2,600 migrant families since it was implemented, according to City Hall officials.

“For more than two years, we have cared for more than 222,000 migrants while saving US$2 billion in costs related to asylum seekers,” the statement said.

Mayor Eric Adams told CNN affiliate WABC on Thursday that the program was supposed to be in place for a year, during which time the city has “moved from emergency response” due to population decline. migration

“We’ve had success with that program,” Adams said. “We reduced food waste, we were able to get several miles to get culturally sensitive food.”

“It was a crisis, and now we’re moving in a different direction,” Adams told WABC.

CNN has reached out to Adams’ office for comment.