Dear Friend:
New York City welcomes immigrants. It’s that simple. They’re
our neighbors, our classmates, our colleagues — we know that we’re
stronger because of our diversity.
But President-Elect Trump has taken aim at those values. He’s vowed
to cancel all Federal funding to
Sanctuary Cities like New York.
Last week my office released a new
report that shows what kind of impact that would have on our City. It’s
startling. More than $7 billion in Federal funds could be at risk –
nearly one of every $10 the City spends.
The President-Elect must remember that behind every line item in the Federal
budget, there is a
human face in New York City – a family in need, a victim of domestic violence,
a homeless and hungry school child, or an AIDS patient. If funding from
Washington were to be cut, it would hurt the most vulnerable among us:
- Homelessness – already at record highs – would worsen. We receive over $480 million for the Section 8 Voucher Program, which supports affordable housing for more than 39,000 New Yorkers. Any decrease would likely mean thousands more New Yorkers without a home.
- The NYPD receives $386.1 million, or 61%, of its funding for Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism from the federal government. Any reduction would make protecting the City that much harder.
- Mr. Trump’s threatened cuts could strip $523 million — or 56% – of the total budget for Child Care Services for children most in need.
- Domestic Violence Services, HIV and AIDS prevention services, and more would suffer.
But here’s the good news. We are going to stand together, and we
are going to fight any cut with every tool at our disposal. New York City
will always welcome immigrants, and we will
never turn people away based on where they’re from or the language they speak.
We must continue to send a clear and unmistakable message from our City
to the White House: any cuts are totally unacceptable. We can and will
stand together to defend New York City and its values.
Sincerely,
Scott M. Stringer