Amid The Tennessee Star‘s AI-assisted investigation into U.S. Treasury records that uncovered Biden-era funding for legal services benefiting illegal aliens, lead reporter Tom Pappert said governments “should be worried” as artificial intelligence enables journalists to expose buried public records and government fraud.
Speaking during Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert said his review of federal data with the assistance of AI technology identified “up to a dozen” jurisdictions that openly disclosed using Biden-era stimulus funds for immigration-related legal assistance.
“I think there are up to a dozen that have admitted this overtly, and this is a similar model to what we first discovered in Nashville, where they received millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act money, and then gave portions of it to two pro-illegal alien non-profits, who in turn used that money to provide legal assistance or hire lawyers for illegal aliens,” Pappert said.
Pappert’s reporting found that cities including Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; and Topeka, Kansas, directed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to nonprofit organizations that provide immigration-related legal services, including representation for individuals facing deportation or removal proceedings.
According to Pappert, Portland provided one of the clearest examples because city officials explicitly described how the federal money would be used.
“Portland, Oregon received $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act money in 2022, and they told the U.S. government, they told the Treasury Department, they were going to give it to a non-profit called Oregon Worker Relief that, quote, ‘Will provide immigration legal services to eligible individuals in order to mitigate immigration legal precarity that contributes to household destabilization,'” Pappert explained.
He noted that the city’s description specifically referenced individuals facing removal from the United States.
“They further explain that this includes an individual who is or could be at risk of removal, family separation, or exclusion. In other words, ‘Gee, President Biden, give me $2 million so I can give it to this non-profit so they can keep illegal aliens in our country,'” Pappert said.
He said his investigation also found that many of the programs originally launched with one-time federal stimulus funding have since transitioned to state or local funding after the expiration of ARPA grants.
“What’s interesting, in 2024, the funding ran out. They couldn’t get any more funding from the federal government. They knew that under Trump this was not going to continue,” Pappert said.
He explained that Oregon subsequently began funding a similar program through the state, while Portland redirected city money to another nonprofit providing immigration legal services.
“The state of Oregon actually stepped in and started funding this OWR non-profit… Then the City of Portland started funding another non-profit, this one called SOAR. And this nonprofit is again providing legal services to illegal aliens,” he said.
Pappert said Washington, D.C., followed a similar model by continuing city-funded legal assistance after its federally supported program ended.
“Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser… created another grant program in the city that would specifically award grants to lawyers, nonprofits, et cetera, that provide legal services to illegal aliens. And yes, they received about $2 million in ARPA money and used it specifically for this purpose,” Pappert said.
He added that the city later replaced the original grant program with another locally funded initiative performing the same functions.
Pappert said the practice was not limited to large metropolitan areas, pointing to Topeka, Kansas.
“Even in small town America, Topeka, Kansas, with 125,000 people, they got $220,000 in ARPA money… And this group, again, provides legal services to illegal aliens,” he stressed.
“So we have both coasts and pretty close to the geographic center of the United States all using federal tax dollars given by Biden to make sure illegals can stay in the country,” Pappert added.
Pappert also discussed how The Star analyzed the Treasury Department’s reporting database, saying its size and format made it difficult for reporters to review without technological assistance.
“You are talking about a spreadsheet that has something in the order of 67,000 rows, something like 50 different columns that correspond to each row, and it’s formatted in such a fashion that it’s almost—it’s frankly impossible to read,” Pappert said.
He credited artificial intelligence with making the analysis practical.
“Frankly, without artificial intelligence, I don’t think a reporter without months or years, or an entire research team under them, would ever have been able to parse this data to discover what we did at The Tennessee Star,” Pappert said.
Pappert predicted that similar investigations into government spending could become more common as journalists adopt AI-assisted reporting methods.
“I think the federal government, all governments, frankly, should be worried,” Pappert said. “They should expect this from The Tennessee Star, and eventually… the rest of the real news industry… they’re going to start to follow The Tennessee Star’s lead.”
Looking ahead, Pappert said he expects the Trump administration to place increasing emphasis on identifying government waste, fraud, and abuse.
“I would predict that over the next year, you’re going to see foreign policy diminish slightly in terms of importance and news coverage, and you’re going to see the Trump administration go full bore ahead on its fight against fraud and waste and abuse,” Pappert said.
“I think that is something that resonates with the voters. They are making progress, but…I don’t think most people understand the progress that’s been made yet, and I think that’s going to change,” he added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
