Image Credit: Anadolu / Contributor / Getty Images
US taxpayers are paying huge amounts of money to the government of Pakistan to house illegal immigrants in the Roosevelt Hotel, in New York.
Attention was brought to the arrangement by a post on social media, which soon drew comment from big hitters including Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk.
“A taxpayer-funded hotel for illegal migrants is owned by the Pakistani government which means NYC taxpayers are effectively paying a foreign government to house illegals in our own country,” Tweeted Vivek Ramaswamy.
“This is nuts.”
Elon Musk, in typical laconic style, tweeted two exclamation marks in response to Ramaswamy’s post.
The original post that drew the reaction states, “The city of New York pays $220 million to rent the entire Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan to house illegal migrants. The hotel is owned by the government of Pakistan, and the deal was part of a $1.1 billion IMF bailout package to help Pakistan avoid defaulting on their international debt. Prior to this sweetheart deal, the hotel had been closed since 2020, having long-struggled with occupancy and in dire need of renovation.”
The overall cost of illegal immigration into the US was estimated at $150 billion in 2023 alone.
At a time when towns and cities across the US have been struggling to find money to pay for basic services like law enforcement and firefighting, the Biden-Harris admin spent $67 billion on illegal immigration, with state and municipal governments spending over $80 billion.
Out of a total of $67 billion spent by the federal government in 2023 on illegal immigration, $6.6 billion was spent on education, $11.5 billion on welfare and $23.1 billion on policing.
States and cities have faced significant budget shortfalls as a result of the immigration crisis. Denver City Council has had to slash $45 million from its budget, so the city can pay the $90 million put aside for dealing with illegal immigrants. That $45 million includes $8.4 million from policing and $2.5 million from the fire department.
New York City spent close to $2.5 billion on accommodation for illegals in a single year. Many were housed in plush hotels that were closed to the general public to accommodate migrants. Well over 200,000 migrants have entered the city since spring 2022, costing the city $352 each a night to house.
Over 150 hotels across the city have been converted into migrant shelters. Overall city funding has been cut by 5% by Mayor Eric Adams.
