A change in eligibility rules of the New York system, a decision made through the city's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), will allow immigrants who have pending asylum applications qualify as eligible for cash payments.
Quietly, Governor Kathy Hochul's Administration made a decision in May that changed the eligibility rules for the Safety Net Assistance programwhich provides social and economic assistance to eligible needy individuals and families who do not qualify for conventional public assistance, including single adults and childless couples.
Thus, Thousands of migrants will qualify for cash payments who would not have been eligible before, although they will only do so if they completed their documentation to request asylum. Likewise, they will only be able to use the checks for essential services such as paying rent, utilities, purchasing clothing and similar needs.
Regarding the number of people who will apply for the benefit, the OTDA expressed that Nearly 90% of migrants who remain in New York will not be eligible for the benefit, as well as it should be clarified that no illegal immigrant will be able to access cash payments.
Criticism of the change in criteria in the New York payment program
Although the change in the eligibility requirements to apply for the program was well received by the immigrant community in the city, different political officials expressed their rejection.
According to the New York Dailythe Republican representative in the city, Nicole Malliotakis, questioned the measure and described it as “another way to attract immigrants” to the district. He also maintained that people come from different parts of the world “to take advantage of all these leftist programs that the governor and the mayor are implementing.”
It was not the only voice that was raised to criticize the modification, since the director of the Center for Immigration and Border Security of The Heritage Foundation, Lora Ries, maintained that “U.S. citizens should always be chosen over illegal aliens when “it tries to distribute limited resources.”
Along these lines, the chairman of the Eire County Republican Committee, Michael Kracker, noted that the measure is “deeply offensive to hard-working New Yorkers, many of whom are struggling.”
#York #rule #change #thousands #immigrants #access #payments