NYC mayor floats plan to send migrants to college for free, courtesy of taxpayers footing potential $1.2M bill

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Eric Adams criticized over plan to send migrants to NY college

NYC Mayor Eric Adams under fire for a reported plan to make taxpayers foot the bill for migrants to go to a community college.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is hoping to send illegal migrants to college for free, with taxpayers footing the bill that could cost around $1.2 million in the first year.

Adams' plan, according to a report from the New York Post, could go on indefinitely and would provide an estimated 100 migrants with 12 months of classes, room and board in upstate Sullivan County.

The pilot program will be overseen by Adams' newly created Office of Asylum Seeker Operations — which works on the coordination of the city’s continued response to a large influx of migrants with a focus on resettlement and legal services, as well as a new 24/7 arrival center for asylum seekers.

While the plan's total cost has not been disclosed, it is likely to cost taxpayers $1.2 million in the first year, based on the price of two semesters at SUNY Sullivan.

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Adams' plan, according to a report from the New York Post, could go on indefinitely and would provide an estimated 100 migrants with 12 months of classes, room and board in upstate Sullivan County. ((Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))

"The mayor’s office is giving us money for things like supplies for people to live on, and the dorms and food," said Michael Rosen, a spokesman for The Center for Discovery, according to the Post.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who serves as chair of the House Republican Conference, blasted the plan, accusing Adams of "making a permanent welfare system for illegal immigrants in New York State."

"By spending New Yorkers’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars on college classes for migrants, he is incentivizing and rewarding illegal immigration simply to export the crisis of Democrats’ own making out of New York City," Stefanik told the Post.

In October, Adams declared a state of emergency for the Big Apple over the city's migrant crisis. An estimated 50,000 migrants have been processed by the city since the spring and more than 31,000 are living at city-wide emergency shelters at a cost to taxpayers of around $4.6 million a day.

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Migrants are seen outside of the Watson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Monday, January 30, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

An internal memo from the New York City Office of Management and Budget, which was reported by the Post last month, states that the city will spend an estimated $4.2 billion on costs related to migrants and asylum seekers that would be spent through June 30, 2023, and the end of fiscal year 2024.

Earlier this week, Adams launched a blueprint for dealing with the multibillion-dollar migrant crisis that includes resettlements outside the Big Apple and job training. He also vowed that stumping for President Biden would not prevent him from challenging the federal government’s border policies.

One call to action from the federal government Adams identified in his "blueprint to address New York City’s response to the asylum seeker crisis" is "a designated leader to resolve the national border crisis and coordinate all relevant agencies and entities, including those in localities where migrants settle."

The blueprint, named "The Road Forward," says the city is "in the early stage of being able to assist asylum seekers in relocating to their preferred city of choice," adding national implications to Adams’ relocation plan. "Ultimately, New York City isn’t equipped to meet the complex needs of asylum seekers given their current rapid rate of arrival," the blueprint says.

Migrants leave for a shelter from the Port Authority bus terminal in New York, the United States, on Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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"For relocation within New York State, the recently released state budget includes $25 million to assist in the resettlement of certain families," the blueprint added.

Adams's office said the city "will continue to advocate for the state and federal governments to provide additional financial and operational support" to better manage the asylum seeker crisis moving forward.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and Adam Sabes contributed to this article.