New York Budget Official Warns Migrant Crisis Is Putting State’s Services At ‘Risk’
Jennie TaerOctober 30, 20230
A top New York budget official warned Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul against continuing to fund efforts to support the state’s migrant influx as it puts other budget items for state services at “risk,” according to an internal memo obtained by Politico.
Division of Budget Director Blake Washington warned Hochul’s office that the burden created by the migrant crisis on the state’s budget could compromise needed funding for education and health care, according to the memo. Hochul is set to announce the city’s plan Monday for its mid-year spending, according to Politico.
“With the continued influx of migrants, no promises of financial support from the Federal government, and no clear pathway to a wholesale policy change at the Federal level to address the situation, New York State can only shoulder this financial commitment for a limited duration without putting other areas of the State budget at risk, such as aid to public schools, support for our health delivery infrastructure, and the readiness of our National Guard,” Washington wrote in the memo to Karen Persichilli Keogh, the top aide to the governor.
“As we move forward, outside of fulfilling our existing commitments, we must consider limiting our assistance to targeted interventions such as legal services, case management and efforts to connect migrants and asylum seekers to jobs, as opposed to sharing in more costly services such as indefinite stays in hotel rooms,” Washington wrote.
https://www.conservativedailynews.com/2023/10/new-york-budget-official-warns-migrant-crisis-is-putting-states-services-at-risk/
