Biden sends $200 million in tax funds to sanctuary cities helping illegal immigrants
Anna Giaritelli
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The Biden administration will shell out $363 million to help cities, states, and nonprofit groups cover the costs of feeding, sheltering, and transporting illegal immigrants released into the United States.
Department of Homeland Security agencies Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection published on Monday a notice of plans to dole out more U.S. taxpayer money weeks after it awarded cities and organizations hundreds of millions of dollars.
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More than $200 million of the $363 million will go to several Democratic-run cities and states that have previously vowed not to allow federal immigration officials to enforce federal laws in their cities, otherwise known as sanctuary zones, for how they provide protection to illegal immigrants from the U.S. government.
Including this latest round of funding, the federal government has now spent nearly $700 million responding to the border crisis in just the past six months, with this latest batch of emergency funding going to cities that have been overwhelmed by busloads of people being dropped off by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) in early 2022.
The money is intended to last the 34 beneficiaries through September 2025, an indication of how long the government expects the border crisis to persist.
New York City’s Office of Management and Budget topped the list of recipients with five times as much money as the second-highest recipient. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams will receive $104,678,007 from the federal government.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) jointly previewed the announcement last week that the Big Apple would rake in $100 million to help respond to the roughly 65,000 illegal immigrants who have shown up in the city and sought help.
However, since Biden took office, more than 2 million total illegal immigrants have been let out of federal custody and permitted to remain in the U.S. through removal proceedings in court — a process that at present takes five to 10 years to complete.
Illinois Department of Human Service was first runner-up with $19 million, followed by San Diego County with $15 million and the city of San Antonio with $13 million.
Other top recipients included United Way of Southwest New Mexico, with $10 million, and World Hunger Ecumenical Task Force, Inc. in Yuma County, Arizona, with $11 million. California’s Riverside County received $10 million, and Chicago claimed $10 million.
Cities and nonprofit groups receiving $5 million to $9.9 million: Pima County Grants Management of Pima County, Arizona; Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego; City/County of Denver; Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc.; United Way of San Antonio; City of McAllen, Texas; City of El Paso Office of Emergency Management, Texas; Laredo, Texas, Fire Department; and Laredo – Texas Catholic Social Service Cities and nonprofit groups receiving $1 million to $4.9 million: World Hunger Ecumenical Task Force of Maricopa County, Arizona; Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; District of Columbia Department of Human Services; United Way National Capital Region; United Way Miami; City of Atlanta; City of Boston; Hennepin County, Minnesota; Colores United/Mariposa Ranch in Luna County, New Mexico; City of Brownsville, Texas; Catholic Charities Dallas; Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo County, Texas; El Paso County, Texas. Cities and nonprofit groups receiving $100,000 to $999,000: World Hunger Ecumenical Task Force, Inc. of Cochise County, Arizona; World Hunger Ecumenical Task Force, Inc. of Mesa, Arizona; St. John Parish in St. John Parish, Louisiana; United Way Worldwide of Southern Maine in Cumberland.
This new emergency funding is likely to draw concern from lawmakers after the DHS inspector general found this spring that nonprofit groups given FEMA money to help illegal immigrants overwhelmingly misspent the taxpayer dollars.
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The inspector general did not specify which groups or cities misspent the money, if they faced any repercussions, or if they were eligible to receive the newly allotted $363 million.
The DHS did not respond to a request for comment on the types of shelter and transportation that recipients are allowed to spend money on.