According to a new Inspector General report, the Department of Homeland Security misspent a large portion of the money used on its program to pay nonprofits to welcome illegal aliens caught and released into the country.
The IG reported that DHS was wrong in failing to oversee how the money provided by the government to these nonprofits was spent. The report added that more than half of the funds paid by DHS in the humanitarian relief program of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program “may have been spent improperly.”
The money was intended to be paid to local nonprofits to assist in conducting COVID testing, providing bus or plane tickets for illegal aliens to enter the country further, and assisting them with housing and other needs once they arrive.
The Washington Times summarised the audit’s findings:
In nearly a quarter of cases tested, investigators said the people getting services weren’t even eligible. Most of those were migrants who sneaked in successfully, evading Border Patrol agents, so they never went through the catch-and-release process. Others were caught and released years ago, yet still showed up for newcomer services.
Investigators also found instances where the local nonprofits were spending money without documenting who they were spending it on.
The IG audit flatly stated that the relocation program is susceptible to continued misuse and fraud in the future.
The IG concluded the report with the statement,
These issues occurred because, although FEMA and the National Board developed the detailed funding and application guidance for the humanitarian relief funds, they did not provide sufficient oversight to enforce the guidance to ensure funds were used as intended.
In total, the IG studied nearly $13 million spent under the program in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, ultimately challenging almost $7.5 million as either unsupported or wrongly spent.
Auditors notified FEMA that it should review that money and “resolve” any problems. FEMA said it hopes to complete that work by the end of June.
You can read the complete story at The Washington Times.
