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Council Member Ayala questions OMB Director on asylum seeker budget shifts
1:16:58
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118 sec
Council Member Diana I. Ayala questions Jacques Jiha, Director of NYC Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, about recent budget shifts related to the city's asylum seeker response efforts. They discuss the reasons behind the transfers between the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and other city agencies in the preliminary and executive plans for fiscal year 2026.
- The administration initially kept all asylum seeker funding in the DHS budget but reallocated resources across agencies in the preliminary plan based on a new cost forecast of $2.6 billion for FY 2026.
- The goal is to consolidate asylum seeker response efforts under DHS, with plans to close all but four non-DHS sites by July 1.
- The administration aims to consolidate all migrants into one system after July 1.
Diana I. Ayala
1:16:58
Okay, thank you.
1:17:04
In the preliminary plan 1,430,000,000.00 in fiscal year twenty six was transferred from DHS's budget to other city agencies that the administration projected would be involved in asylum seeker response efforts.
1:17:16
In the executive plan 781,500,000.0 was transferred back to DHS from other agencies for fiscal year twenty six.
1:17:25
Why were these funds shifts why were these funding shifts between DHS and other city agencies made in the preliminary plan and why were these shifts partially rescinded in the executive?
Jacques Jiha
1:17:38
Prior to the preliminary plan, all asylum seekers funding was kept in the DHS budget in the out years because there was no cost forecast yet for fiscal year twenty six and the out years.
1:17:55
In the preliminary plan, we published an asylum secure forecast for '26.
1:18:01
We projected cost of $2,600,000,000 so therefore we had to reallocate resources across agencies based on the state of our operations at that time.
Diana I. Ayala
1:18:16
You does the administration expect that DHS is gonna fully take over the city's asylum seeker response efforts in fiscal year twenty six and beyond?
Jacques Jiha
1:18:22
The goal is to consolidate.
Diana I. Ayala
1:18:25
Okay.
1:18:26
Okay.
1:18:27
Do you know when and what the transition plan is?
Jacques Jiha
1:18:30
Yeah, we're the transition to do this and our goal is we're on track to close all but four non DHS sites by July 1.
1:18:45
Okay.
1:18:46
And you know, and thereafter we began to, you know, the consolidation of all the migrant into one system.