Did you know that your tax dollars have been propping up a system of nonprofit organizations that house and transport illegal aliens across the country? President Donald Trump has paused some of the programs that propped up that system, and now those nonprofits are taking him to court.
HIAS (formerly Hebrew Immigrant Aid Services) and Church World Service—two faith-based nonprofits that receive federal grants and oppose efforts to enforce immigration law—filed a lawsuit Monday aiming to block Trump’s order pausing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
The lawsuit admits that Trump’s action has essentially defunded what I call the Immigration Industrial Complex—and left them struggling to pay their bills.
“In the meantime, Plaintiffs HIAS Inc. and Church World Service Inc.—national faith-based nonprofit organizations that receive a majority of their funding from the federal government—are already struggling to keep their lights on and their staff employed, let alone continue to serve the vulnerable refugees at the core of their missions,” the lawsuit states.
The Immigration Industrial Complex
As I explain in my book “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government,” HIAS and Church World Service helped abet the border crisis by transporting illegal aliens across the country—paid for by your tax dollars.
Alejandro Mayorkas, then-secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under then-President Joe Biden, went from assistant DHS secretary under President Barack Obama to the board of HIAS during the first Trump administration. In an April 2022 memorandum, Mayorkas listed groups like HIAS as part of his border security plan. In that plan, “Border Security Pillar 4” involves “bolstering the capacity of non-governmental organizations to receive noncitizens after they have been processed by [Customs and Border Protection] and are awaiting the results of their immigration removal proceedings.”
Both HIAS and Church World Service lobbied against the border security legislation HR 2 in 2023.
As I note in the book, HIAS received 33% of its total revenues in 2021 from the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. Church World Service, meanwhile, received $20.5 million in government grants in the year ending in June 2022, about 40% of its $51 million in total assets.
Church World Service received $25,000 from Sixteen Thirty Fund, one of the left-leaning nonprofits founded by the for-profit company Arabella Advisors. The Sixteen Thirty Fund forms a part of what I call the Left’s dark money funding network—a series of nonprofits that fund the “Woketopus,” the woke activist groups that staffed and advised the Biden administration.
Church World Service has urged Americans to contact their representatives in Congress, pressuring them to support $4.447 billion for the Migration and Refugee Assistance program—a program from which Church World Service received $28 million between November 2022 and September 2023.
When approached for comment about the claims in my book, Church World Service emphasized that funding from the Migration and Refugee Assistance account only funds refugees resettled under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and the “individuals arriving in the U.S. via these programs are in the United States lawfully, having been granted admission from the U.S. Government following rigorous vetting.”
Church World Service did not address the grants it receives through other programs that are eligible to fund the transportation of illegal aliens, such as the “Unaccompanied Alien Children Program” run through the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Lora Ries, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, countered that “the Left has greatly watered down the standards to grant refugee status to economic migrants who make weak claims of fear from ineligible conditions like general crime, civil strife, and climate change.”
“Our refugee system has strayed significantly from what the U.S. committed to following World War II,” Ries added. “We need to return to a system with integrity, not use resettlement as just another pathway to bring more aliens into the U.S.”
All these funds and programs are separate from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s efforts. According to Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, FEMA just last week spent $59 million to house illegal aliens in New York City hotels.
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit, Pacito v. Trump, seeks an injunction to block Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
The order notes that the U.S. “has been inundated with record levels of migration” over the past four years, causing even major cities to declare states of emergency and seek federal assistance to “manage the burden of new arrivals.” The order suspends the refugee program “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”
In the lawsuit, HIAS and Church World Service joined with nine individuals who stood to benefit from the refugee program and Lutheran Community Services Northwest, another nonprofit that helps resettle refugees. Those plaintiffs are suing Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink.
The plaintiffs claim the Trump administration violated the Refugee Act of 1980, which established the refugee program; that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act; that it violated the due process clause; and that it violated the separation of powers established by the Constitution.
Perkins Coie, the law firm that infamously hired Fusion GPS to compile the dossier suggesting that Trump had been a Russian asset, is representing the Immigration Industrial Complex in the lawsuit. The International Refugee Assistance Project is also representing the plaintiffs.
Tyler O’Neil is managing editor of The Daily Signal and the author of two books: “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” and “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.”
Reprinted with permission from The Daily Signal – By Tyler O’Neil
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
The immIgrants that built this country did not have the government or any organization pay their expenses. Those coming in now should not rely on freeloading to get by.
do any of these NGOs accept private donations? If yes, they should seek private donations from people who support their mission and leave American taxpayers alone.
And Tom Homan is crying foul at the Pope for his comments on this “defunding” of NGO’s? Wonder how much catholic charities is getting in funding under the table to aid and abet illegals? The heads of these NGO’s and the Pope are outraged at the callousness of American taxpayers for not wanting to continue to support illegals in this country. Their protests sure answers a lot of questions as to how illegals are being financially aided once they get here. Kudos to DOGE and Homan’s remarks to these supposedly humanitarian groups for bringing to light what we have long questioned.
Every one of these organizations should be out of business. People need to find a real.job. how about helping citizens veterans
Hopefully these lawsuits go absolutely nowhere.
Our taxes should not support these types of organizations. Let them apply for a non profit 501 status and start doing fund raisers to support their cause. Why is tax payer money used to fund these groups? Because it’s easier to get, especially under a regime who likes to distribute our taxes to those who will eventually keep them voted into office. Support your own cause and leave my money alone!
My Federal tax dollars should not be funding non for profit entity !
So when they lose in court President Trump should make them pay back we The tax payers for the court cost as well.
Enough of this crap already I work two jobs 1 full time Monday thru Friday and then 1 part time Saturday and Sunday, so get off your backside and fund yourselves!
I sometimes struggle to pay my bills, too.
Church World Service is comparing the time right after WW II to today. Those people you sponsored then came here legally. They had been fully vetted in their own country. Received a visa and were resident aliens with a green card, in this country. I know a couple that came here in 1956 and settled in Syracuse New York. Why there? Well Church World Service had there a house ready for them. Fully furnished and a freezer and pantry stocked with enough food to last a couple with 5 kids for 6 months. Rent was paid for 6 months. Lets compare that to today. Now they go and get them in those countries without papers and provide for them. Why? For some perverted need to help your fellow man? You only have to look around any neighborhood in America where your help is needed. You don’t have to go looking for it in other countries. That is what is wrong with progressives thinking as well as the billionaires who support this open border policy. They feel smug they have helped 20 million people to a better life. They forget about the 20 million citizens that were not helped, right here in America. The sick, the poor, the disabled, victims of crime, hurricane and fire victims. FEMA even refused help for those who supported Trump. But a gang member out of Venezuela oh Trump can’t deport him. While the victims of these gangs have lost everything. Many lost their lives. But that is all okay Pritzker of Illinois and Hochul of New York, Polis of Colorado, Newsom of California, will protect these criminals. How much money did Soros pay them? That is what is wrong with these bleeding heart agencies. They fall prey to the money that is dangled in front of them. The minute that stops they are broke. What kind of bookkeeping do they have? That the minute their money pipeline dries up they are broke. There was no budget? Politico right away too, we can’t make payroll. Come on. The paid propaganda machine had no reserve? How do you think the poor American gets by at the end of the week before he gets his next paycheck. Is he or she complaining? After receiving 50 million dollars you are broke when the next payment doesn’t come in. You don’t deserve any money from the federal govt. Trump is going to clean op all this fraud and abuse. And the dems in the congress are running scared. Trump will follow the money and will find the largesse they have participated in all these years. Term limits anyone? USAID is nothing more than a money laundering operation and should be eliminated. The state dept should get that budget and send money to those countries to help the people who need it. Not 100 million for Condoms in Gaza.
SO Many Americans are complicit in defying American law…..NEVER forget, 75M Americans saw what was happening for the 4 years of the Biden Administration and said YES…I want more of the same and most probably worse. Conservatives won a battle getting Trump elected…..but the war is far from over.
We can’t bankrupt these ngos fast enough. I don’t care if somebody in their chain has some heart for these people, most of them are in it for the money. Better we will be as a nation. Over a million people a year legally immigrate to our country. We don’t need another 2 to 4 million coming across our border illegally and these scumbags helping them.
Criminal organizations pretending to do good, while doing the opposite, then expecting us to pay them for it. They need to be shut down.
The immigrant that built this country was a different specie. The ones coming in are not interested in that. They expect to be taken care of. The church that is so worried about resettling the “refugees” must not have seen a true refugee. These here are mostly strong young men well fed and shod all with a cell phone. If church is so worried it should open it’s coffers and take care of them, see the saintly Pope and Vatican squirm at that suggestion. We have enough trouble no need to pile more on. Everyone so worried should put their money where their mouth is or shut up ..
What liars these non-prophets are!! I’ll never believe what ANY non-prophet claims to be. They can call themselves “Gods army” but they LIE!! Of course they wouldn’t call themselves “THIEVES of the USA Tax payers” would they! NONPROFIT means free tax money!! I’m so amazed at the TRILLIONS of $$$ (OUR money…TAKEN from us in every form. Tax on are wages, tax on our money left from that to buy food. Food tax, gas tax, property tax on homes, vehicles. Tax on our utilities, tax on doctors bills and medications, and more!! All so WE can give free money to corrupt people, agencies, nonprofits…
I feel I never want to pay a tax on ANYTHING anymore! All that money taken from us!! I’d like to be able to buy a home, have a little land, start a small business, have some retirement. But I have none of these!! Yet TRILLIONS of our tax dollars exposed, that are being given away and used in so many ways, Except for OUR American Dream
So sick of illegals being treated better than our elderly, vets and people that lost their homes during natural disasters!
The answer is do it with donations from your likeminded supporters, but not with taxpayer money. Do try and remember if they didn’t come in legally, they broke our laws and that makes them criminals. IMO
-Well, Boo-Hoo!! I live on SSI and I struggle every month to pay my bills.
I am hoping President Trump will revamp SSI so that yearly raises actually match the cost of living percentage. A 2% raise doesn’t cut it with a 6% cost of living.
The brain-washing in all of our government-run schools is now showing how evil this has been for our kids. These “kids” are now the ones who support all of the illegal practices that the radical left now pushes on us. We must get the government out of our schools or it will only get worse. No one in their right mind wants to fill our country with heinous illegal immigrants. How can an organization claim to be Christian when they are endangering the lives of Americans with their practices??? And what grounds are they trying to use to stop Trump? I hope he puts all of these entities out of business.
How can a faith based group receive funding from the government? Should they not be funded by private donors? But then NPR and PBS are supposed to be funded by donations from listeners but they both receive funding from the government. I don’t understand how that works.
Those who believe this is wrong…step up…donate your money and encourage your fellow believers to do the same. Put your actions where your beliefs are.
Damn, this is what I call entertainment! “F” them!!
These are issues that require trial and court decision priority. Otherwise, our country will continue its path down the porcelain swirly bowl. SCOTUS needs to accept the appeals as a matter of national security. In the meantime, not one more dime for these illicit organizations doing the work of the nihilist devil.
Biden set a precedence when he ignored funds to build the border wall that were allocated by Congress. Good enough for Sleepy Joe… Its good enough for the real POTUS! GOD BLESS DONALD TRUMP!
Meanwhile…. LEGAL US Citizen’s in the south… are living in a tent in the dead of winter. Homeless Vets are living in the streets… Always look at any liberal issue thru that lens then move on.
Where the Church is treading, the Government should not dare to intrude!!! What happened to “The Separation of Church and State”?????
Defund them all. And that is another way elected “servants” or their families have and are becoming multi-millionaires
Since the 70s for the illegals alone
When my ancestors came to America, 193 years ago, they were given nothing and expected nothing, except a chance to earn their way and become good citizens, and they did! Bidum and his leftist democraps illegally gave free housing, food, education, jobs and phones to illegals from all over the world, many who were known criminals, and gang members. We know that Bidum leftists even kicked veterans out of hotels so they could house illegals instead! Only a leftist dimocrap could be this low and unAmerican!
I hope transporting illegal aliens and criminals across the border sends some of the people who knowingly and purposely transported these people on our dime are arrested and sent to prison. Good use for our tax money to send them to jail!!