MI Scholar John Ketcham Comments on $2.4B for Migrants in Hochul’s FY ’25 Executive Budget

“Governor Hochul’s proposed additional $2.4 billion in state spending on migrant services will, if enacted, give Mayor Adams more breathing room and shield President Biden and congressional Democrats from some political barbs in a combative election year. But it will ultimately prove a temporary and insufficient stopgap for New York’s migrant crisis. Even after a downward revision, the mayor’s preliminary FY25 budget expects New York City to spend $4.9 billion on migrants in the next fiscal year. Most importantly, billions in government spending cannot address what’s driving migrants to the city: its unique right to shelter.

“If state lawmakers refuse to pass legislation replacing the city’s antiquated legal agreements to provide shelter on demand, the responsibility falls on Adams—ideally, with the governor’s support—to challenge the constitutional basis of the right to shelter. If he refuses, Gotham’s taxpayers will continue to pick up the tab for the federal government’s failure to modernize and enforce its immigration laws.”

—John Ketcham is a fellow and director of cities at the Manhattan Institute.

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