The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found that some of the $110 million from the ‘American Rescue Plan’ for immigrants at the southern border was misused by nonprofits.
The report outlines how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $110 million in relief funds under ARPA to “provide services to families and individuals encountered by DHS in communities most impacted by the humanitarian crisis at the Southwest border.”
The office discovered that the funds were not always used within proper guidelines, organizations did not provide adequate receipts and documentation, and some did not provide documentation for those individuals it gave services to.
From Fox News:
Organizations were required to maintain documents related to costs, migrants served each day, expenses incurred and proof of payment for purchases. In one sample, the IG said 58% of the amount reviewed was missing documentation. Additionally, it determined some of those migrants did not have a DHS encounter record, meaning they were "gotaway" illegal immigrants who had evaded Border Patrol agents instead of turning themselves in after crossing illegally. The IG said that of the 824 names it tested as a sample, 197, or 24%, were ineligible to receive humanitarian services, and 154 did not have an encounter record. "These issues occurred because FEMA did not provide sufficient oversight of the funds and instead relied on local boards and fiscal agents to enforce the funding and application guidance," the report said. "As a result, FEMA, as the National Board Chair, cannot ensure the humanitarian relief funds were used as intended by the funding and application guidance." Multiple Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the use of non-governmental organizations at the border, suggesting such groups are misspending money and are encouraging or facilitating illegal immigration.
