NYC unlocks more than $100 million in federal funding for migrant crisis after months of delays

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New York City unlocked more than $100 million in federal funds to help deal with the migrant crisis after months of delays, officials announced Thursday.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said during an afternoon press briefing that $107 million would finally be coming to New York City, the delayed portion of a larger $150 million aid package announced last summer.

“We appreciate the productive collaboration of our federal partners, and we’ll continue to work closely with them so money can be released,” she said. “We will continue to advocate for significantly more support, as well as for comprehensive immigration reform.”

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration had come under fire in recent weeks over apparent paperwork issues holding up the release of the aid dollars overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as reported by the New York Daily News.

Williams-Isom said the administration would be using the funds to reimburse money that has already been spent dealing with the nearly 183,000 migrants who have made their way to the city since spring 2022 — nearly 65,000 of whom remain in the city’s care at more than 200 shelters around the five boroughs.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share that he had helped work with the city and federal governments to make sure the funds were released, and took a swipe at Republicans over immigration reform.

“NYC will receive a fresh $106M from feds to reimbursement for migrant costs,” he said. “I worked hard with NYC and FEMA to deliver these funds. Now Republicans must stop blocking the strong, bipartisan border bill, which can deliver more.”