Talk about one of the strangest versions of doublespeak yet.
After all, in which universe does a sanctuary city generally “save” money for its residents … with regards to illegal migrants?
Apparently, New York City plans to do so … though it conveniently leaves out the fact that any “savings” taxpayers experience are little more than an effort to claw back taxpayer funds that should have never been expended on migrants in the first place.
According to a surprising report from the New York Post, New York City recently inked a $250,000 agreement with Alpha International Travel Corp to move individuals in shelters – many of whom are migrants – outside of the city and into … well, apparently wherever they wish to go.
According to a spokesperson for beleaguered Mayor Eric Adams, the quarter-million dollar deal is apparently designed to “help with the relocation of new arrivals.”
“This program will also now help with the relocation of new arrivals. Streamlining these operations will allow us to continue closing more emergency shelters and help migrants leave our system to take the next step on their journey,” Adams boomed.
Is that so? It’s a shame that the “first step” wasn’t applying for legal entry in the first place, per longstanding federal immigration laws … laws that used to have bipartisan support.
As detailed by the New York Post, “a staggering” number of people – nearly 100,000 individuals – still remain in the shelter system.
More than 40 percent of these individuals are migrants.
Of course, a City Hall spokesperson was sure to focus on how much taxpayers will allegedly “save” under the new scheme … conveniently leaving out the immense, unnecessary costs incurred in the first place.
“Thanks to our nation-leading management of this crisis — including our successful reticketing program — we have seen over nine straight months of the migrant population decline in our shelter system, 62 migrant shelters will be closed by June, and we have saved city taxpayers $5 billion,” the spokesperson proclaimed.
Oh, wow! Taxpayers save $5B from relocating tens of thousands of individuals who were not legally present in the first place?
Sounds like major league doublespeak to more critical ears.
And that doublespeak is especially clear when consulting reports from under a year ago … reports that warn about the city spending upwards of more than double the presumed $5B in savings.
“Spending on the migrant crisis is expected exceed $5 billion, and Mayor Eric Adams has previously said costs could balloon to over $10 billion,” Fox News reported in 2024.
And how, exactly, one might ask, does the city manage to expend multiple billions on migrants?
Apparently, lavish hotel lodging for months on end comes at a price … especially for the taxpayers funding it.
Though to be fair, said taxpayers did vote on the “leadership” that brought them sanctuary city fiascos in the first place.
“At an average of $352 per night for at least 36,939 households, the city has previously projected it will spend $4.75 billion providing shelter, food, health care and education to the influx of migrants during the 2025 fiscal year, according to the current forecast by the city’s online asylum seeker funding tracker,” Fox News helpfully detailed.
Well then. $352 per night for a hotel in an exorbitantly unsafe city for illegal migrants … all funded by taxpayers?
Seems legitimate.
Little wonder that Adams was openly fretting last year about the need to close shelters and otherwise stop the city from hemorrhaging taxpayer money.
Especially when many of its wealthiest residents have ironically fled to currently deep red Florida anyway.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, but make no mistake, thanks in large part to our smart management strategies and successful advocacy, we have turned the corner on this crisis. We’re not scrambling every day to open new shelters. We’re talking about closing them. We’re not talking about how much we’re spending. We’re talking about how much we’ve saved,” Adams declared in 2024.
Well, it seems that Adams is set to “save” taxpayers $5B with his latest contract … though it remains unclear if the $5B saved will ever be on par with the real costs of the crisis.
Including the massive outflow of taxpaying citizens needed to fund sanctuary city policies in the first place …
Author: Ofelia Thornton
