Taxpayer millions allocated to border crisis charities are being diverted to unconventional expenses like music therapy and "people-plant interactions" for migrants, alongside hefty salaries for staff, a recent report reveals, the New York Post reported.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) tasked with sheltering migrant minors entering the U.S. alone have been benefiting from substantial government grants, drawing attention to their spending practices.
According to federal disclosure documents cited by The Free Press, the top three organizations, Global Refuge, Southwest Key Programs, and Endeavors, Inc., have seen a staggering increase in combined revenue from $597 million in 2019 to $2 billion by 2022.
As highlighted in the report, Endeavors has been utilizing taxpayer funds for unconventional programs like "pet therapy," "horticulture therapy," and music therapy for migrant children. In 2021 alone, the organization disbursed $533,000 to music therapist Christy Merrell, demonstrating the scale of spending on such endeavors.
An internal Endeavors PowerPoint, acquired by America First Legal, a nonprofit founded by former Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller, revealed that the organization facilitated 1,656 "people-plant interactions" and 287 pet therapy sessions from April 2021 to March 2023.
Moreover, the CEOs of these nonprofits are reported to be receiving exorbitant salaries, with the head of Southwest Key earning over $1 million annually. Such revelations have triggered widespread criticism, with Charles Marino, a former adviser to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, denouncing the organizations' lavish use of taxpayer funds as "obscene."
"We're going to find that the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money will rival what we saw with the COVID federal money," Marino remarked, drawing parallels to the mismanagement of pandemic relief funds.
The nonprofits receive funding from the Administration for Children and Families, a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) division, through its Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). As the migrant crisis escalates, the ORR's budget has ballooned from $1.8 billion in 2018 to $6.3 billion in 2023, with an expected expenditure of at least $7.3 billion this year, predominantly channeled to NGOs and other contractors.
Critics, including Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, lament the lack of accountability and efficacy in addressing the burgeoning crisis.
"What is new under Biden is the amount of taxpayer money being awarded, the lack of accountability for performance, and the lack of interest in solving the problem," Vaughan noted.
The ORR, mandated to shelter unaccompanied children until they come of age or can be released to sponsors, primarily relatives residing in the U.S., faces mounting pressure as the influx of migrant teenagers continues unabated.
According to HHS data compiled by the New York Times, nearly 400,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border into the U.S. since 2021, underscoring the urgency for more effective and accountable management of taxpayer funds allocated to address the crisis.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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