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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Asylum seeker crisis management and associated cost reductions
0:15:36
ยท
120 sec
Jacques Jiha details the city's efforts to manage the asylum seeker crisis and the resulting cost reductions in the budget. He highlights the decline in the number of asylum seekers in the city's care and the associated savings.
- The city has reduced costs related to asylum seekers by $2.4 billion over FY 2025 and FY 2026.
- The number of asylum seekers in the city's care has declined from a peak of 64,000 in January 2024 to 42,300 currently.
- 37 emergency migrant shelter sites have been closed this fiscal year, with a total of 53 closures expected between June 2024 and June 2025.
- Total asylum seeker-related savings over three fiscal years amount to nearly $5.2 billion.
- New York City has spent more than $7.1 billion to care for over 232,600 asylum seekers since spring 2022.
Jacques Jiha
0:15:36
The savings over fiscal year twenty five and twenty six include a $2,400,000,000 reduction in the cost of caring for asylum seekers.
0:15:45
As the population in the city's care declines, so do associated costs.
0:15:51
The city efforts to help asylum seekers achieve self sufficiency including our thirty days and sixty days sixty day notice policies together with federal policy changes that we vigorously advocate for have stabilized the crisis.
0:16:09
Since the implementation of border controls by the Biden administration in June 2024, there have been twenty five straight weeks of sustained decline in the number of asylum seekers in our care, which has fallen from a peak of 64,000 in January 2024 to 42,300 now.
0:16:33
As a result of the census decline, we have consolidated sites and closed 37 sites this fiscal year to date and will have closed 53 emergency migrant shelters between June 24 and June 25.
0:16:50
These closures, ongoing efforts to renegotiate contracts, rebid for services, and reduce utilization of for profit service providers, have generated total asylum seekers savings over just three fiscal years of nearly $5,200,000,000.
0:17:11
Through February, New York City has spent more than $7,100,000,000 to to feed, house, and care for more than 232,600 asylum seekers since the spring of twenty twenty two.
0:17:26
And we have done this without raising taxes, laying off employees, or making major cuts to program our services.