Fact-checking state Sen. George Borrello on New York City cards for migrants

Like other Republicans, New York state Sen. George Borrello has taken issue with the Immediate Response Card initiative, a program backed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to distribute debit cards to migrant families.

In a Feb. 5 X post, Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, wrote, "@NYCMayor said NYC will give $1,000 taxpayer-funded credit cards to migrants. @GovKathyHochul said that she is working on easing requirements for state jobs for migrants. When they say they are helpless to stop the influx, DON'T BELIEVE A WORD."

Borrello is referring to a program that would use taxpayer money to support purchases of food and baby supplies for migrants. However, Borrello inaccurately described the program as using credit cards when it uses prepaid debit cards.

The initiative aims to provide basic necessities for migrants, most of whom crossed the U.S. border without legal status and now await determinations on asylum. 

The program is starting with 500 migrant families and, if successful, could be expanded to allocate $53 million. 

The money must be used to cover the costs of food and certain other necessities, such as baby supplies, that are outlined in an affidavit each family must follow. 

Funding amounts are based on a family’s size and could reach $1,000 per family, as Borrello said. Cards would be refilled every 28 days. 

Besides connecting families with "fresh food for their culturally relevant diets," the pilot program aims to reduce city spending.

Adams’ office has projected that shifting to this method of supporting migrants will save New York City taxpayers more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million annually.

Adams’ office said such efforts are necessary because cities such as New York have experienced significant inflows of migrants during the recent immigration surge, and in turn, this has required taxpayers to shoulder significant up-front costs.

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"New York City has led the nation in managing this national humanitarian crisis, providing compassion and care to more than 173,000 migrants who have come through our intake system asking for shelter since the spring of 2022," Adams’ office said in a statement to PolitiFact. "And because of our work, we’ve also successfully helped more than 60 percent of those migrants move out of our care and get on the path to self-sufficiency." 

The main inaccuracy in Borrello’s post concerns the type of cards that are being used. As PolitiFact has reported, credit cards and debit cards are different. 

With a credit card, the money spent is fronted by the card’s issuer with the expectation that the amount will be paid back later. Debit cards, by contrast, offer a preloaded cash amount and cannot be used to spend beyond the preloaded amount. 

The New York City program uses a debit card, not a credit card.

At a press conference, Adams said, "We need to dispel the rumor that we gave American Express cards to everyone, you know? That is just not true."

Borrello’s office told PolitiFact that X posts’ space constraints made fully describing the method of payment difficult. "The most technically and contextually correct term for the cards handed to migrants would be ‘New York State taxpayer-funded, prepaid, reloadable, debit cards,’" his office said.

Borrello’s office called Adams’ plan a "naive gamble," saying the affidavits signed by recipients may not be able to ensure that the money is used only for the agreed-to purchases. 

The cards "can be used for anything and are simply relying on the affidavit to try to ensure recipients only use the cards on approved items," Borrello’s office said. "In reality, it is highly unlikely that the city’s staff will have the time to review all the grocery receipts of 500 recipients to check for unauthorized purchases."

Borrello said, "NYC will give $1,000 taxpayer-funded credit cards to migrants."

New York City is starting a pilot program that would give 500 migrants up to $1,000 loaded onto prepaid, reloadable debit cards. If officials consider the program successful and build it out fully, it could become a $53 million effort. 

These are not credit cards. Although credit cards use borrowed money that must be paid back later, debit cards use preloaded cash.

The statement is partially accurate but omits important details, so we rate it Half True.