Illegal immigrants in the Big Apple will soon start receiving pre-paid debit cards that they must pledge only to buy food with under a $53 million pilot program, according to New York City records and media reports.
Records indicate that New York City has awarded a $53 million contract to a company called Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi), which will launch and pilot the pre-paid cards—called Immediate Response Cards.
Under the program, MoCaFi will begin delivering the cards to the Roosevelt Hotel, which is the first touchpoint for newly-arriving illegal immigrants in New York City, where MoCaFi staff will hand the cards out “directly to asylum seekers receiving financial assistance.”
