(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Taxpayers are footing a hefty bill for New York City’s hotel industry, which has received over $1 billion to house illegal aliens in former luxury hotels, reported the New York Post on Saturday.
A staggering $1.98 billion in tax dollars has been allocated toward housing, including hotels across the city’s five boroughs. The total expenditure on services for illegal aliens has reached $4.88 billion.
Currently, the city is using 193 shelters for illegal aliens. Out of that total, 153 are hotels, motels or inns, according to internal documents from the Office of Management and Budget.
This immense cost is a direct result of President Joe Biden’s open border policies, whistleblowers have revealed.
House Republicans accuse the Biden administration of exploiting a parole system that effectively allows illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. for extended periods.
New York City has seen an unprecedented influx of illegal aliens, significantly impacting the city’s resources.
On average, households in New York City are paying $352 daily to house illegal aliens.
Some contracts with the hotels award multi-million dollars each month.
For example, the city granted a $5.13 million monthly contract between the city’s Health + Hospitals agency and the Row NYC Hotel, which closed its doors to exclusively house illegal aliens. The Crowne Plaza JFK received a $2 million a month contract for 335 hotel rooms.
The negative consequences are evident, as these hotel rooms were originally meant for customers who would use nearby restaurants and bars.
“Our taxes are being used to pay for the migrants, and where are we supposed to make revenue?” asked William Shandler, a manager at Iron Bar, located in front of the Row Hotel. “How as a business could we function?”
Carlos Arellano, a former Row employee, said the hotel has turned into a “free for all” for drugs, sex and violence.
According to online real estate company CoStar, over 16,000 hotel rooms have been taken off the market, effectively harming the economy.
Councilwoman Joann Ariola, R-Queens, highlighted the negative consequences, saying, “These locations were meant to boost the economy of this city, but instead they’ve become a net drain and are costing us enormously.”
