Even before Gov. Ron DeSantis flew fewer than 50 illegal immigrants to the sanctuary called Martha's Vineyard, Fox News' Bill Melugin was keeping an eye on the border towns in Texas. Who was paying for buses to pick up illegal immigrants and take them to the airport? Most likely non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, like Catholic Charities.
As we reported last month, a reporter found flyers at the Mexican-based Resource Center Matamoras urging illegals to vote for Joe Biden: "Reminder to vote for President Biden when you are in the United States. We need another four years of his term to stay open," they read.
Investigative journalist Maddie Rowley decided to look into some of these NGOs that have been facilitating the migrant crisis at the border, and again, it's a case of following the money.
EXCLUSIVE: I spent four months investigating the web of NGOs facilitating the Biden Administration's migrant crisis. These taxpayer-funded groups are pulling in billions of dollars and lavishing themselves with salaries and bonuses.
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
Here's how they're cashing in. 🧵
Endeavors, Inc. was awarded a $1.3 billion grant to run a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Pecos, Texas. In 2021, they spent $533,000 on music therapy and offered "horticulture classes."
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
Global Refuge’s CEO, Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, former policy director for First Lady Michelle Obama, saw her compensation increase from $244,000 in 2019 to $520,000 in 2022.
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
Southwest Key Programs' CEO, Dr. Anselmo Villarreal, makes over $1 million, their chief strategist makes $800,000, and the head of operations makes $700,000. Its total payroll was $465 million in 2022. The NGO has been plagued with issues--including employees sexually assaulting…
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
"… including employees sexually assaulting migrant children in its care." Sounds like the UN.
As more unaccompanied children have crossed the border, the NGOs continue to expand in size. Global Refuge had 75 employees on staff in 2019, and by the end of this year will have a staff of 700.
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
Rowley writes for The Free Press:
And with the recent massive influx of unaccompanied children—a record 130,000 in 2022, the last year for which there are official stats—the coffers of these NGOs are swelling, along with the salaries of their CEOs.
“The amount of taxpayer money they are getting is obscene,” Charles Marino, former adviser to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under Obama, said of the NGOs. “We’re going to find that the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money will rival what we saw with the Covid federal money.”
…
The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, funds the nonprofits through its Office of Refugee Resettlement, and its budget has swelled over the years—from $1.8 billion in 2018 to $6.3 billion in 2023. The ORR is expected to spend at least $7.3 billion this year—almost all of which will be funneled to NGOs and other contractors.
The CEOs of Global Refuge, Southwest Key Programs, and Endeavors, Inc. pay themselves between $500,000 and $1 million a year.
I think a big question along the way, that likely can’t be answered accurately, is how much money is going into incumbent’s campaigns?
— Daniel 🇺🇸 (@TomHillsisyphus) May 13, 2024
It’s a legitimate question and worth a follow up investigation.
— Maddie Rowley (@Maddie_Rowley_) May 13, 2024
So it looks like the border crisis has become another Democrat grift. Exorbitant taxpayer funded salaries for leadership at NGOs, just ridiculous.
— CubanCaneV3 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@CubanCane04) May 13, 2024
The same can be found with the agencies that are supposed to be fixing homelessness. It’s in the government’s interest not to fix anything bc then they would lose the things they run on. It’s all about laundering and kickbacks.
— 💧Apathetic Tear Drop💧 (@apathetic_tears) May 13, 2024
Business is booming, and so are the federal grants that keep these NGOs going.
I started digging into Southwest Key because there’s a facility in my hometown. The amount of complaints is appalling. How are these NGOs able to retain the NGO status when they appear to be fully funded by the government?
— Sibyl (@Sibyl09) May 13, 2024
These executives and their executives need to be outed, shamed and mocked relentlessly. Make them have to leave the country altogether.
— Gold Coast Ghost (@JimSt_) May 13, 2024
Our goverment is one big laundromat.
— Skeptology 101 (@Skeptologist) May 13, 2024
Anyone might suspect this was an abuse of taxpayers money and money laundering.
— Andrew Ivey (@tellingitstr8) May 13, 2024
You should also look at their political donations. There's often a circular cash flow with this kind of NGO.
— StratPicker22 (@StratPicker22) May 13, 2024
Thank you @SpeakerJohnson for passing the obscene spending bills that pay for this corruption of our Constitution and rule of law. Democrats laughing all the way to the bank. This is the tip of the iceberg of what NGOs are going to circumvent immigration and election laws.
— AuditTheMachines (@koumiss) May 13, 2024
The Homeless Industrial Complex and the Illegal Resettlement Complex are basically looting operations. Wealth redistribution from the white middle class to the Democrat client base.
— rocketman (@aherhwer) May 13, 2024
I used to work for one. Our annual budget more than doubled due to all the Covid money that the federal govt was passing out. Most of it ended up doing nothing but housing homeless people in hotels. Then some of them would trash the rooms, so we had to spend money on repairs.
— DespeRobbo (@Desperobbo) May 13, 2024
Our corrupt politicians and corrupt NGOs need to be tried and jailed. No doubt about it.
— Steve (@Pershing56thFA) May 13, 2024
That, and we're sending billions to the mother of all immigration NGOs in Ukraine.https://t.co/rVb5KwAbbV
— Citizen X (@mywitsendalso) May 13, 2024
Non-governmental organizations that exist almost completely off of government grants..
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