The Trump administration has launched a review of organizations that provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants, suggesting they may have violated a law prohibiting human trafficking.
The Department of Homeland Security has “significant concerns” that federal grants used to address a surge of migration under former President Joe Biden were used for illegal activities, wrote Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
His letter, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, asks recipients of grants from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to provide names and contact information for migrants served and “a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided” within 30 days. The letter says funding will be withheld during the review.
While it doesn’t explicitly threaten criminal prosecution, it raises concerns that recipients may have violated U.S. Criminal Code Section 1324, a felony offense against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States. It also says executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling law.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.
Hamilton’s letter suggests that the U.S. government is taking action to address a scandal that the House GOP has been chasing for years.
In May 2023, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to DHS Alejandro Mayorkas asking Mayorkas to provide information, communications, and documents related to the agency’s funding awards to NGOs at the southern border.
At the time, Jordan argued that NGOs are likely taking advantage of the administration’s loose funding guidelines to make a financial profit off of the border crisis.
Jordan cited a recent inspector general report that found more than $110 million in federal funds had been fraudulently spent by immigration nonprofits. The nonprofits “did not always provide the required receipts or documentation for claimed reimbursements” and “were unable to provide supporting documentation” for how the money was spent, the Office of the Inspector General reportedly found.
“NGOs simply tell DHS how many illegal aliens they encounter, and funding can be awarded without any documentation or receipts,” Jordan wrote. “Federal funding for migration-related NGOs at the border has increased dramatically at a time when federal resources for border security and immigration enforcement and local resources for emergency response and medical care have been strained to the breaking point.”
Last November, The Center Square revealed that the federal government allocated $159 million in FEMA funding to “provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants” in California alone since 2023.
FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program awarded $641 million to dozens of state and local governments and organizations across the country in the 2024 fiscal year to help them deal with large numbers of migrants who crossed the border from Mexico. They include the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver, as well as the United Way of Miami, the San Antonio Food Bank and several branches of Catholic Charities.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
