New York Post by Craig McCarthy , Emily Crane and Carl Campanile 3/20/2024
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has drawn outrage for claiming that giving each of the tens of thousands of migrants pouring into the Big Apple free legal representation could net billions in economic benefits for New York state.
Lander’s office said in a report that coughing up individual lawyers to rep migrants could prevent roughly 53,000 asylum seekers from being deported across the Empire State — resulting in an estimated net benefit of $8.4 billion for local, state and federal governments.
“Access to work authorization leads to higher wages. The higher earning power generates more tax revenue. Higher personal income also benefits the economy through increased consumer spending,” the report said.
“Additionally, gaining lawful status also opens the door to more immigrants opening bank accounts, buying homes, and starting businesses, which all help grow the economy.”
The report — which fails to lay out how much it would cost to cover the legal fees — comes as the city is grappling with how to foot the bill for sheltering the roughly 180,000 migrants who have arrived since the crisis erupted in spring 2022.
More:
https://nypost.com/2024/03/20/us-news/giving-nyc-migrants-free-lawyers-to-fight-deportation-will-boost-economy-report/
