Two leading members of the House Committee on Homeland Security began an investigation last week into 215 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suspected of illegally using taxpayer funds to aid illegal aliens who entered the country under former President Joe Biden.
“The open-borders, anti-enforcement policies of the Biden Administration, supplemented by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), helped fuel the worst border crisis in our nation’s history,” said the congressmen.
Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) sent letters to 215 NGOs implicated in abetting former President Joe Biden’s border crisis.
The letters requested that the groups fill out a survey on their government contracts and grants, any lawsuits they have prosecuted against the federal government, and any legal aid, shelter, transportation, translation services, or any other services they have provided to illegal immigrants.
“The Biden Administration’s reliance on NGOs therefore created a pull factor by signaling to those who arrived illegally or without proper documentation that they could expect such assistance, all expensed to American taxpayers, once they arrived in the United States,” the congressmen added.
One NGO under investigation, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), was linked to the recent anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots in Los Angeles California.
Another organization, Southwest Key Programs, received over $3 billion to resettle unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors. While benefiting from that taxpayer contract, the group’s executive salaries increased by 139 percent, investigators assert.
With the help of the NGOs’ transportation services, illegal immigrants were able to disperse throughout the nation after entering illegally, most often through the southern border.
The chairmen also raised concerns in their letter about the lack of transparency in how these NGOs are using taxpayer funds. They highlighted a 2023 audit of how NGOs spent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds that could account for less than half of the funding they received.
They warned that future administrations could return to using taxpayer-funded NGOs to encourage illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. and assist them after they arrive.
The subjects of the investigation include, among numerous others:
- Catholic Charities USA
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Haitian Bridge Alliance
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Global Refuge
- Endeavors
- Make the Road New York
“Despite the progress made by the Trump Administration, the Committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations,” said the letters.
The chairmen warned that failure to respond to their letter by June 24 could lead to “further measures” from the Committee on Homeland Security.
