Free NYC Childcare ‘Regardless Of Immigration Status’

Announced entirely in Spanish, Representative Alexandria Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told parents regardless of their immigration status, they can enroll their child in free childcare in a short video on Tuesday. The only requirement is that the child turns three or four in 2026. 

“Any New York City parent regardless of your occupation, income or immigration status is eligible to sign their child up,” said Cortez. Besides telling the audience his Spanish was rusty, Mamdani let Cortez do the talking. 

The Daily Wire reviewed the application process and found that parents can apply through three primary methods to enroll their children in the free 3-K and Pre-K program. They can apply by creating a “MySchools” account which will provide applications in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, or Urdu. For families who prefer not to apply online, the city offers a phone option where interpretation services “are available in more than 200 languages.” Parents may also apply in person at one of the city’s Family Welcome Centers. Sign-ups end for all methods after February 27th. 

During the sign-up process, parents are generally required to provide documentation verifying the child’s age, along with two documents proving residency within New York City. A cable or utility bill are listed as acceptable documents. However, even that proof can be waived with a simple check of a box that indicates the child is living in temporary housing. 

“Students in temporary housing, as defined by McKinney-Vento, are not required to submit documentation (including address, proof of date of birth, and immunization) in order to enroll,” the form says. “Schools must provisionally pre-register the student and then work with the students in temporary housing DOE contact to obtain documentation.” 

3-K and Pre-K programs operate as part of the broader public school system, meaning their funding flows through the New York City Department of Education (DOE). The DOE represents the single largest portion of the city’s budget, accounting for roughly 40% of the current $115 billion spending plan. Under Mayor Mamdani’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, total city spending is projected to jump to $127 billion resulting in a large deficit.  The mayor has faced backlash for proposing raising property taxes by 9.5% to pay for the budget jump. 

Property taxes in New York City have not been raised since 2003, making the proposal especially contentious among homeowners and business groups. During his campaign, Mamdani pledged that tax increases would primarily target wealthy individuals and large corporations rather than middle-class residents. 

To avoid raising property taxes, Mamdani has an open request to Governor Kathy Hochul to raise taxes by 2% on those who make over one million dollars a year, but Hochul has pledged not to raise taxes in 2026. She did however promise Mamdani $1.5 billion dollars over the next two years to help fund his budget with some of the funding going towards early childhood programs.