In the past year alone, more than 40,000 migrants from the Southern border have made their way to the Big Apple. That means more than 40,000 new mouths that New York taxpayers need to feed, and more than 40,000 new bodies that New York taxpayers have to shelter. For a city that’s already on the brink of a financial crisis, with a swelling homeless problem of its own to deal with, this is nothing short of a catastrophe in the making.

It’s well past time that the federal government act to fix this problem. The Biden administration needs to step up, do its job, and stop the human flood that’s pouring in from Central and South America each and every day. And not just that, but the administration needs to foot part of the bill for causing this problem in the first place. They need to send our city much-needed federal reimbursement for the money that’s been spent – and will continue being spent – to provide for the busloads of people that have arrived in New York. Estimates are already saying that our migrant programs will cost us more than $2 billion –nearly the same amount as the annual budget for the entire FDNY. As a city, we’re having problems making sure we can cover the budget with the money we currently have – we simply cannot afford to take on the equivalent cost of an entirely new agency.

We also need to reconsider our own designation as a sanctuary city as well. Our city’s homeless shelters are bursting at the seams, and adding more to the already overburdened shelter system is nothing short of irresponsible. It might be time for the mayor to think about getting rid of that “sanctuary city” designation, and face the reality that we simply can’t afford to virtue signal like this any longer.

Now, let me be clear – I am not anti-immigration. My great grandparents (and one of my grandparents), like so many of your own ancestors, came across the ocean from Europe and set up a new life for themselves here in America. I’m all for passing on that kind of opportunity to the next wave of immigrants. What I am against, however, is the absolute waste of taxpayer dollars we’re seeing – taxpayer dollars spent to cater to people who have arrived here illegally in the first place. Thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted on food being thrown in the trash, Xboxes and big screen TV’s installed in migrant shelters, newcomers being put up in hotels right off of Times Square. The list goes on.

We need to use some common sense with this stuff. We need to spend money correctly – and we shouldn’t be spending it frivolously on amenities for migrants when so many New Yorkers can otherwise benefit from that money. And if we do need to spend money to fix a mess made by the federal government, well then the federal government should have to pay for it.

Do you have any issues you’d like to see addressed? If so, we would love to hear from you. Call our office at 718-318-6411 or send us an email at District32@council.nyc.gov. My office is always here to help