A group of House Republicans are preparing to investigate three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on the southern border to assist illegal immigrants when they enter the country. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) is leading the effort. The other House Republicans are Tom Tiffany (WI), Jake Ellzey (TX), and Andy Biggs (AZ). The group sent a letter to the NGOs telling them to preserve documents and communications related to their operations. It is part of their investigation into the movement of illegal immigrants from the border into the U.S. interior.
The congressmen are concerned about the role NGOs play in the increase of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The letter accuses the NGOs of violating federal law and regulations.
“The Biden administration is circumventing the security and safety standards federal agencies must uphold by allowing NGOs to harbor, transport, and encourage unauthorized aliens to resettle in the United States,” they write.
They accuse the NGOs of “violating federal law and regulation, placing migrants and American communities at risk, and subjecting local communities to unreasonable burdens.”
NGOs are reimbursed by the federal government, American taxpayers, for their work. Does the work they do, which is sheltering, transporting, and encouraging illegal immigrants to resettle in the United States act as a magnet?
NGOs working with illegal immigrants along the border is not something new that began with the Biden administration. Their work is under greater scrutiny now because of the historic surge of illegal immigrants during the Biden border crisis. There were more than 2.3M migrant encounters in FY 2022. FY 2023 is tracking to exceed the FY 2022 numbers. Title 42 will end on December 21, next week, and the number of border crossers will explode. Thousands are waiting on the Mexican side of the border for Title 42 to end. They know if they can get to American soil, they will likely be allowed to stay. The NGOs are their first source of help. They provide supplies and probably help them with transportation to their preferred destinations.
Predictions from DHS are that when Title 42 ends, there will be up to 14,000 migrant crossings a day. DHS Secretary Mayorkas has suddenly become so concerned about the situation in El Paso, where the surge of illegal immigrants has overwhelmed the city of 800,000 residents and left them to turn out hundreds of migrants to sleep on the streets, that he traveled to the city to see things for himself. While there this week, he spoke with Border Patrol agents and city officials.
The three NGOs that the House will investigate include Catholic Charities USA. Catholic Charities posted its response on its website.
In a statement posted to its website, Catholic Charities USA said it was “incredibly disturbing” for the charity – the domestic humanitarian arm of the U.S. Catholic Church – to be accused of violating federal law and fueling the increase of migration across the border.
“These accusations are both fallacious and factually inaccurate. Our life-saving humanitarian work neither violates federal laws nor endangers communities,” the organization said. “The federal government is fully responsible for maintaining the U.S. border and determines who enters the country.”
“Let us be clear. The U.S. immigration system is in dire need of reform; Catholic Charities and all those agencies and individuals responding to this national crisis are operating within a broken system,” it said. “We urge all Americans to ask the administration and their congressional representatives to act on this important issue, as we have done.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has joined in on the investigations into NGO activity. Abbott cited reports he’s received of possible illegal activity. He instructed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate whether nonprofit organizations have helped people enter the country illegally.
Without citing any evidence, Abbott said he had received reports that nongovernmental organizations — a term that generally refers to nonprofit, humanitarian groups — “may be engaged in unlawfully orchestrating other border crossings through activities on both sides of the border, including in sectors other than El Paso.”
After Abbott’s call for an investigation, Paxton’s office announced it was looking into three legal aid groups suspected of “aiding and abetting the invasion of illegal aliens.” In a news release, Paxton’s office said it was requesting information from three groups that provide legal aid to migrants as part of their work: the Equal Justice Center, the Tahirih Justice Center and American Gateways.
Democrats are complaining that Governor Abbott is trying to intimidate non-profits working along the border and is trying to criminalize their work.
“Governor Abbott’s decision to investigate NGOs that are providing humanitarian care for migrants is shameful and intended to intimidate and instill fear in non-profit and faith-based organizations that exemplify the values we should all aspire to,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said in a statement. “Most border NGOs that work tirelessly on the border help provide temporary shelter, food and hospitality to migrants, most of whom will be awaiting adjudication of their asylum claims with sponsors they have in different parts of the country. They have been doing this work for decades and deserve our praise, not persecution.”
Dylan Corbett, executive director of the El Paso-based Hope Border Institute, said in a statement that Abbott’s language was “alarming and an unequivocal attempt to intimidate humanitarian organizations working on the front lines.”
So, asking for transparency and providing details on their operations – funded by taxpayer money – is “intimidation.” No one and no organization is above being held accountable, especially during extraordinary times. How are solutions to the Biden border crisis going to surface if all areas of the problems are not discovered and sorted out? The full picture has to be looked at.
