The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced over $54 million in awards last month for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Shelter and Services program to Arizona entities to offset “costs incurred” due to the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.
According to funding awards posted publicly by FEMA last month, two Arizona-based charitable entities, Pima County and Maricopa County will collectively receive $54,573,093 to support illegal immigrants in the 2024 fiscal year.
The World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task Force, Inc. of Yuma and Maricopa received $9,532,854 and $11,606,329 respectively, while Pima County received the second-highest award in the country at $21,827,581 and Maricopa County received $11,606,329.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which first reported the spending on Tuesday, explained the program “was established by the Biden administration to provide shelter, food, medical care, and transportation to illegal aliens after having been processed by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
According to FAIR, the program actually “enables the mass processing and release of illegal aliens into the country, putting strain on American communities and increasing costs to taxpayers.”
Of the 55 recipients, 35 are non-governmental organizations that work to assist illegal immigrants while 20 are state or local governments, according to the organization’s analysis.
In February, after Republicans successfully defeated legislation that would have provided funding to areas affected by the large number of illegal immigrants as well as funding for foreign wars in Ukraine and Israel, it was reported that nonprofits receiving funding from Pima County were preparing to scale back operations.
The news of the federal funding to support illegal immigrants in Arizona comes as state lawmakers prepare a public referendum that would introduce new criminal penalties for submitting false information to E-Verify and help reserve welfare benefits for U.S. citizens.
Arizona House Republicans, in a statement, accused Governor Katie Hobbs and other Democrats of “neglecting their duties to not only keep our citizens safe from the associated criminal activity infiltrating our communities, but to also stop the drain of taxpayer dollars being used to handle the mass numbers of illegals entering our state.”
The Republicans will reportedly have the Secure the Border Act ready for a November vote as early as this week.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John Modlin.
Stop wasting my taxes….send them back home until they learn how to legally immigrate. This country and state needs better leadership immediately.