A Venezuelan TikToker generated outrage after bragging that he received a $1,000 prepaid card issued by New York City government and that he had been in the country for a year without having to make any rental payments.
TikTok user @yimderoficial further infuriated followers in the video posted Monday after he flashed the debit card that is part of a pilot program introduced by the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to help migrants cover their basic need expenses.
‘I am happy and pleased for all the support they have given us as Venezuelans,’ he says.
‘We are extremely grateful and I want to show you that apart from the fact that rent is not paid that we do not have to have worries or responsibilities when it comes to paying the rent, paying the weekly or monthly rent, because the government has given us help of the red card of $1,000 per month to all the Venezuelan migrants that find ourselves in the shelters.’
The young man, who appears to make his living as a delivery worker, indicates that he and other migrants in his position are content due to the financial assistance that city of New York has extended.
‘It already got to me, thank God. We are happy, happy because once again they are giving us the support we need,’ he said.
Venezuelan migrant, who goes by @yimderoficial on TikTok, is being criticized for a video he uploaded Monday when he claimed that he received a $1,000 prepaid debit card that is part of a pilot program initiated by the administration of New York City Mayor Erik Adams to help migrants with their basic need expenses and said he has not paid rent for a year
A Venezuelan young man who illegally migrated to the United States and is now living in New York thanked the New York City government for giving him a $1,000 prepaid card and said that the money he earns working is spent to ‘dress well, to eat well and to go out to see this wonderful country’
He then took a swipe at migrants who have gone on to settle down in the United States while they wait for their legal status to be resolved – a dragged out process that can take months at time.
‘It’s not my fault. It is not our fault that you have the mind to come to this country and immediately start with your responsibilities of paying rent, working and trying to make a lot of money,’ he said.
‘On the other hand, we simply and simply enjoy ourselves,’ he added. ‘We enjoy all the support and all the time since simply what we generate, if it is the case of generating in our work, is to dress well, to eat well and to go out to see this wonderful country.
‘So, it’s not my fault, your problems are not our fault. That everyday life and that life of unhappiness and that life of stress that you came to live in the United States, live it yourself. Since we Venezuela have never lived that way, have a good day.’
DailyMail.com reached out to @yimderoficial for comment.
The administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams is using $53 million in taxpayer money to fund a pilot program that provides prepaid cards to migrants so that they can cover the cost of their basic needs, such as groceries
The Venezuelan migrant, who is known on TikTok as @yimderoficial, said in the video that it is not his fault that migrants who come to the United States arrive with ‘the mind to come to this country and immediately start with your responsibilities of paying rent, working and trying to make a lot of money
The Venezuelan man claims he has been living rent free for a year since migrating to the United States
The viral video, which has been shared by countless of social media accounts, drew frustration from his followers online.
One concerned user called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to shut down the pilot program after the city funded it with $53 million.
‘@Kathy Hochul .. you need to hear what this migrant is saying. This needs to Stop. A concern NYS tax payer,’ @cafeymimosa wrote.
Another TikTok member, @Omarealvarado, indicated that the Venezuelan migrant should be required to pay the money back since he is employed.
‘Yes, New York has given you so much time to work and pay that back to the tax payers us the people,’ he wrote.
@Eliastraderbarber chimed in: ‘It’s not free, that’s what we all give you. When we pay taxes. Take advantage while we support you.’
@Yimderoficial’s claims come as Mayor Adams been criticized for spending New York City taxpayer money on migrants by handing out no-bid contracts.
Mayor Adams has been accused of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on migrants by doling out no-bid contracts.
City Comptroller Brad Lander made the claim in an audit of migrant-related contracts released on Tuesday, identifying 340 asylum-seeker contracts representing an estimated contract value of $5.7 billion.
According to the audit, most of those contracts were procured on an emergency basis, allowing the city to waive the usual competitive bidding requirements.
In one case, a vendor charged the city $185.63 per hour for shelter supervisors, totaling nearly $1,500 per eight-hour shift.
The audit noted that the city’s migrant crisis has been ongoing since the spring of 2022, with Adams’ state of emergency declaration coming in October of that year, and questions why contracts are still being procured on an emergency basis.
Last week, Adams announced his administration will cut an additional 10 percent in migrant spending and pause drastic budget cuts to other departments after he was slammed for giving migrants taxpayer funded debit cards.
The Big Apple has been inundated with an influx of migrants that have cost taxpayers $12.65 billion in 2023.
More than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022, and the crisis is only deepening as they continue to be bussed from Texas where record numbers are entering.