Accounting for Asylum Seeker Services

The Comptroller’s Office analyzes the City’s spending on asylum seeker services to increase oversight over these large expenses. Asylum seeker costs are primarily driven by two variables: the number of households in shelter and the average per diem rate of providing shelter and services.

Funding for Services to People Seeking Asylum, OMB Financial Plans

Source: Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget

In the January 2025 Financial Plan, OMB updated its census and per diem projections for the first time in 12 months, reducing the budgeted asylum seeker costs by $1.1 billion in FY 2025, $1.34 billion for FY 2026, and $399 million for FY 2027. In its March 5^th Comments on New York City’s Preliminary Budget the Comptroller’s Office projected total FY 2025 spending of $2.75 billion, $531 million less than the Administration’s budget estimate of $3.28 billion.  The Comptroller’s Office also assumes that OMB’s estimates of Federal funding in FY 2025 and FY 2026, and State funding in FY 2026 and the outyears are risks to the financial plan.  See the March report for more details.

Funding for Asylum Seekers (FY 2023 and FY 2024 Actuals, as of the January 2025 Financial Plan) 

Source: Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget. “Actuals” represent amounts currently in the City’s Financial Management System, which are still preliminary as accrued costs are subject to change. Figures may not add due to rounding.

Spending

The City of New York spent $1.47 billion for asylum seeker shelter and services in FY 2023, with $438 million covered by the State. The City spent $3.75 billion in FY 2024, with $1.31 billion covered by the State. The City committed $2.76 billion in FY 2025 through February 28, 2025, with $1.37 billion in planned reimbursements from the State.

AS Spending ($ in Millions)

Note: Liquidated expenditures are through 2/28/2025. Administration Estimate represents the Administration’s estimated expenditure amount on asylum seekers as reported to the City Council. Liquidated represents the expenditure amount that has been distributed, including drawdowns of the prior year payable. Remaining Prior Year Payables are the FY 2023 and FY 2024 payable amounts that are yet to be cleared. Remaining Committed is the expenditure amount shown in FMS and includes pre-encumbrances, encumbrances, and unliquidated amounts. The Remaining Budget in FY 2025 is the total amount included in the most recent City budget for asylum seekers less commitments and liquidations.

Source: NYC Financial Management System, NYC Terms and Conditions for budget adoption.

Over the past two fiscal years, liquidations (cash paid) for asylum seeker expenses have not kept pace with commitments. According to the City’s Financial Management System, total FY 2023 commitments for asylum seeker expenses were $1.47 billion as of the close of that fiscal year. However, only $994.6 million had been liquidated as of February 2025, leaving open payables of $479 million across 10 agencies, primarily at DHS with $380 million open in February and H+H with $89 million. 

Of the $380 million in DHS accrued expenses, $289 million was recorded and liquidated in other DHS budget codes. The reconciliation of these expenses will increase the liquidated amounts for asylum seekers by $289 million and reduce other DHS expenses by the same amount. As of late February, another $17 million of the DHS open accrual is expected to be written down in the asylum seeker codes. The validity of the remainder of DHS and H+H accrued expenses is being monitored closely by the Office of the Comptroller. 

Under the City’s accrual method of budgeting, when prior year expenses are taken down in a closed fiscal year they are recognized as savings in the current year. Together, the potential adjustment of H+H and DHS FY 2023 payables may reduce FY 2025 expenditures by up to $446 million, including the $289 million adjustment to DHS non- asylum seeker costs and up to a $157 million reduction associated with asylum seeker costs.  

As for FY 2024, $3.35 billion was liquidated and $3.75 billion committed, with open payables of $405 million as of February 2025. The Comptroller’s Office is monitoring the validity of these accruals as well.

State and Federal Funding

The Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal released in January does not include additional State aid for the City’s asylum seekers spending. Of the $4.16 billion budgeted so far by the State, $3.1 billion represents direct reimbursements to the City for expenditures in FYs 2023 – 2025.  

The City has budgeted $1.32 billion in State aid in FY 2025 for shelter reimbursement and other site support, as well as dedicated aid for shelters at Randall’s Island, Creedmoor and Floyd Bennett Field, for which the state assumes all or most costs. Although the Floyd Bennett Field and Randall’s Island HERRCs have closed, and Creedmoor is slated to close by June, the Adams Administration has indicated that the State will continue covering costs for equivalent care incurred at other sites across the City. This aid also covers some costs for case management, legal services, application assistance, and voluntary relocation.  

As of February 6, 2025, the City has received $1.26 billion in State funding for asylum seekers, including advances. 

Federal funding in the January Plan remains unchanged from November and includes $60 million in FY 2025 and $59 million in FY 2026. Combined with FY 2024 prior year funding of $120 million, the Mayor’s Office anticipates a total of $238.2 million. Of this funding, $237.3 million is from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the remaining funds are used for tuberculosis prevention and immunizations. 

Prior to the end of January 2025, the City had received $120 million in FEMA funding for all years ($70.6 million for SSP, and $49.0 million for EFSP). On February 4^th, FEMA paid the City $80.5 million for Federal FY 2024 SSP grant awards – $58.5 million for SSP-A (Allocated) grants and $21.9 million for an SSP-C (Competitive) grant reward. These payments were in response to claims filed by the City for eligible expenses under the grant. Following the disbursement, the FEMA employees involved in the payment were dismissed and the Federal government reversed the deposit. The Comptroller’s Office will continue to monitor future federal payments.

Projections of Asylum Seeker Shelter Census

The Comptroller’s Office has updated its projection to reflect recent trends and anticipate future entrance and exit rates. The latest updates rely on actual census trends through February 2, 2025.  

The current in-shelter projection decreases much faster than this Office’s prior projections. Exits from NYC shelters peaked after the institution of time limits, decreased and stabilized through most of 2024, and increased again in late 2024 and early 2025, before falling again. The updated projections assume that the daily exit rate of 0.49 percent observed between December 2, 2024, and February 2, 2025, will continue to hold over the forecast horizon. Combined with fewer entrances, the overall population is expected to decline through FY 2025, but at a gradually lower rate. Over time, the absolute number of households exiting shelter will decline as exits are a factor of the (decreasing) overall population.  

Additionally, with Federal policy likely to remain highly antagonistic to immigrants and the local response uncertain, the numbers are likely to continue to fluctuate.

Updated Comptroller Projection of Asylum Seeker Shelter Census (Households) 

Source:  Office of the New York City Comptroller; Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget

Note: Shelter census includes all households seeking asylum in City-funded shelters including those in DHS-operated shelters, HERRCs, and other facilities. The number of households is an estimate based on actual shelter census and average household sizes provided by the Office of Management and Budget.

Note: A household can be a family with children, adults living together as a family (adult parent with an adult child or adults living as partners without children), or a single adult living alone. 

The Comptroller’s Office uses a daily per diem rate to calculate annual costs. Applying a 5 percent reduction to the calculated FY 2024 per diem of $373 yields an estimated FY 2025 per diem of $354. This is similar to OMB’s FY 2025 per diem assumption of $352. Information provided in the asylum seeker report to the City Council shows that the cumulative per diem (spending from July 1, 2022, through December 2024) is $370. 

The Comptroller’s FY 2025 projection amount is reduced again by 5 percent in FY 2026 for a per diem of $336. In FY 2027, FY 2028, and FY 2029 the Comptroller’s Office uses a per diem of $315, which the Office estimates as the floor for the daily rate for emergency shelter provision as the City moves to DHS-managed emergency shelters.  

The Comptroller’s Office’s lower population and cost projections result in a lower total asylum seeker services estimate than OMB’s current budget. The Comptroller’s Office estimates a total cost of $2.75 billion in FY 2025, declining to $527 million by FY 2029. As shown in Comments on New York City’s Preliminary Budget, this is $531 million less than currently budgeted by OMB for FY 2025 and $4.8 billion less over the entire financial plan. City savings are lower, offset somewhat by the Comptroller’s reduced federal and state funding assumptions.