Immigrants' rights groups in New York have been given more than $600 million in taxpayer funds over the years to oppose the immigration policies of the Trump administration, The New York Post first reported.
The outlet reviewed contracts by legal and migrant advocacy groups that showed more than half a billion dollars has been funneled to provide legal services and other benefits to criminal defendants, including illegal migrants. A group called the Bronx Defenders was given $500 million in city contracts since 2018 and pulled in another $32 million from state contracts.
Another group called Make the Road New York was given $56 million to give legal, health, and other services to primarily migrant clients, according to state and city records. A third entity, The New York Immigration Coalition (NYICC) took in $46 million over the years. The NYICC's leadership has openly promoted sanctuary city policies calling them "public safety measures."
Murad Awadeh, executive director of the NYICC, posted on X, "New York City should not be in the business of carrying out Donald Trump's mass disappearance agenda, which is in fact illegal under our local laws," adding, "Sanctuary policies are public safety measures," he said.
"They encourage people to participate within our society so that they're able and comfortable enough to report things that are happening and without them, a lot of people won't do that, because they are fearful, and rightfully fearful, especially in the world that we're living in today, that they may end up entrapped in this ICE enforcement that's happening."
The Bronx Defenders have also used the government funds to push for sanctuary policies that run counter to the administration. "State leaders are not powerless against the federal administration's mass deportation agenda," the group posted on X on June 11. "We have a couple ideas: pass New York For All and Dignity Not Detention now, before it's too late."