The Biden border crisis has pushed New York City’s spending to a staggering $5 billion, a result of the influx of nearly 200,000 migrants since mid-2022.
The city, overwhelmed by the number of arrivals, has become the hardest-hit area in the nation, as migrants seeking a place to resettle navigate lengthy immigration court proceedings.
New York City’s Humanitarian Crisis Response Tracker revealed that the city spent $4.8 billion during the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years alone, with expenditures skyrocketing in recent months.
The city has likely spent over $112 million since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, bringing the total cost of the crisis to over $5 billion.
The sharp rise in spending has been attributed to the increased number of migrants entering the United States illegally by crossing the southern border. Many of these individuals have made their way to New York City, which has housed, fed, and clothed over 212,000 migrants to date.
The city’s spending on the crisis more than doubled from $1.45 billion in 2023 to $3.43 billion in 2024.
Over the past two years, nearly $2 billion has been spent on housing, rent, and initial outfitting, with another $1.9 billion allocated to services and supplies. Information technology and administrative costs totaled $488 million, while food and medical costs amounted to $345 million and $124 million, respectively.
New York City’s Health and Hospitals Department and the Department of Homeless Services have been the largest spenders, with both departments collectively spending nearly $4 billion.
The city has been forced to set up over 200 emergency shelters to accommodate the migrants due to a shortage of space in existing homeless shelters.
Additionally, tens of millions of dollars have been spent on commandeering hotels, including the City View Inn, Springhill Suites by Marriott, and the Roosevelt Hotel, among others.
Initially, the city operated under its Right to Shelter law, guaranteeing a bed for anyone who needed one. However, as the crisis intensified, the city imposed caps on how long people could remain in city-funded housing.
The migrant influx was partly fueled by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to offer free bus transportation to migrants in Texas, many of whom chose to relocate to New York City.
Since April 2022, Texas has bussed approximately 45,900 migrants to the city, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the total arrivals.
Despite a significant decline in the number of migrants crossing the southern border since December—when Border Patrol agents arrested nearly 250,000 individuals—New York City continues to bear the brunt of the crisis. In July, migrant arrests dropped to below 60,000, but the city is still processing around 700 new migrants each week.
Mayor Eric Adams has warned that the city’s spending on the migrant crisis could reach $10 billion by 2025. In response to the crisis, the city has budgeted $4.75 billion for the current fiscal year to provide shelter, food, healthcare, and education to the migrants.
The escalating costs of the crisis have led to concerns about the city’s ability to sustain such spending.
The New York City Police Department, which spent just $1 million on the crisis in 2023, saw its spending jump to $20 million in 2024 as police were increasingly dispatched to manage illegal activities at overcrowded migrant centers.
While Mayor Adams remains hopeful that the worst is behind the city, he acknowledged that the situation is far from resolved. The city still faces challenges, including dealing with violent gang members among the migrant population and ensuring the safety of its residents.
As the crisis continues to strain New York City’s resources, many are questioning the long-term impact of the Biden administration’s border policies and the ability of cities like New York to manage the ongoing influx of migrants.