The immigration crisis may bankrupt cities such as New York, Denver and Chicago as federal funds fall short of needs

The recent surge of migrants has put major cities across the U.S. under significant financial pressure.

“I think it’s at this point, politically unsustainable for the Biden administration to maintain this unlimited flow into what’s essentially a welfare state network of cities like New York, Denver and Chicago,” said Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.

As pressure continues, cities such as Chicago and New York have begun putting restrictions on the bussing of some migrants from the South. But experts say more federal assistance and funding are necessary to ensure that cities can survive the ongoing crisis.

“The current level of federal funding provided to state and local government is a drop in the bucket compared to the need,” according to Debu Gandhi, senior director of immigration policy at The Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan and progressive policy institute. “Congress has provided a very small amount of money of $800 million for a FEMA program for the entire country the last fiscal year to assist cities in aiding these newcomers.”

But cities say that amount is far from enough. For instance, the $145 million allocated to New York City is less than 10% of what the city spent on migrant services in fiscal 2023, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

“This is a whole spectrum of housing, of services needed for people who are new to a place, new to a country, new to a city,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. “These are complicated issues to manage, so the city, the state and the federal government, frankly, were not prepared for it.”

Watch the video above to see just how much financial pressure cities across the U.S. are facing due to the ongoing migrant crisis.

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