Biden Administration to Begin Awarding $350 Million of Your Money to House, Feed, and Transport Illegal Aliens
FAIR Take | March 2023
On February 28, in another brazen move to prioritize illegal aliens over hardworking Americans, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will begin awarding $350 million of taxpayer money to “help local communities around the country better manage the costs of noncitizen arrivals in their communities.” The award is for illegal aliens “provisionally released from DHS custody pending the outcome of their immigration court proceedings.” It’s the first allocation from a new $800 million slush fund for illegal aliens created by the $1.7 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending bill, which President Biden signed December 29 while vacationing at taxpayer expense in the Virgin Islands. Per guidance cited in the department’s press release, the latest grant may fund month-long hotel stays and plane tickets up to $700 per illegal alien, among other things. This comes as everyday Americans suffer from record inflation, crime, and deadly fentanyl poisoning their communities as a result of these financial incentives for mass illegal migration.
The $350 million grant supports the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which is overseen by a National Board chaired by a representative of DHS’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The other six board members represent woke open-borders charities and religious organizations, including Catholic Charities USA, which has drawn Congressional scrutiny for allegedly “violating federal law and regulation, placing migrants and American communities at risk, and subjecting local communities to unreasonable burdens” by “facilitating the movement of illegal immigrants across our border.”
Localities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can apply for reimbursement – or, in some cases, advance funding – for a variety of activities to “support” illegal aliens. In addition to the aforementioned hotel stays and plane tickets, taxpayer money may go towards “legal aid” to help aliens get around our immigration laws, “translation services” so aliens don’t have to even bother learning the language of the country they’ve illegally invaded, “mental health” (a vague term that could encompass a wide range of expenses), up to $5,000 of reimbursement for big-ticket purchases like cars or A/C units, and/or payroll expenses for staff – including overtime.
While departmental guidance lays out a number of documentary requirements, recipients can dispense with the hassle if they accept a standard “per capita rate” of about $30 for each illegal alien served. With over 200,000 aliens regularly illegally crossing the border each month under Biden, this can add up to big bucks in a hurry. In the unlikely event the woke National Board actually discovers and cares about ineligible expenditures, they are instructed to simply write a “written request…for recoupment” and then, if the local recipient doesn’t want to pay, refer it to equally woke FEMA, which is even less likely to care.
Perhaps one of the most brazen categories of reimbursement is for “transportation services.” A whopping 30% of such expenditures can be for “long distance” flights into American communities far from the border and, when Title 42 is lifted (currently slated to occur May 11), this cap will see “greater flexibility.” The guidance dedicates nearly two pages (19-20) painstakingly clarifying – without naming names – that it’s okay when Biden ferries migrants around the country, but not Ron DeSantis or Greg Abbott. In the latter case, it’s a “severe humanitarian challenge” due to the threat of “misinformation” at their destination.
This round of funding is being dispensed through EFSP – a program originally established in 1987 to help hungry and homeless Americans – because Biden and crew can’t get money out the door fast enough. The remaining $450 million from the omnibus slush fund will go towards a new “Shelter and Services Program” (SSP) expressly dedicated to illegal aliens. To ensure maximum capitulation, FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are holding “a series of listening sessions over the next several weeks” with former grant recipients and interested future applicants. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas commented, “We…look forward to awarding funds through this important new program later this fiscal year,” which ends September 30. Whether it’s EFSP or SSP, these windfall programs act as a strong magnet for further illegal migration and turn every town into a border town. Instead of rewarding illegal aliens with goods and services when they reach our soil, we should secure the border, protect American citizens, and respect the rule of law. But we aren’t holding our breath for Biden and Mayorkas to listen.