The president of the Arizona nonprofit that Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) announced will receive $7.5 million in federal funding last month was appointed to a national advisory role by President Joe Biden the next day.
Gallego announced last month that the Regional Center for Border Health, which is focused in Yuma County, would receive $7.5 million of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding he reported securing on August 28.
Regional Center for Border Health in March was reported to be engaged in transition services for illegal immigrants, especially those with pending asylum cases that may take up to seven years to come before a court for adjudication by a federal judge.
The group was greeting busloads of illegal immigrants after federal authorities dropped them off in March, when ABC 15 Arizona reported the Regional Center for Border Health provides “food, water, and COVID testing,” as well as an opportunity to charge mobile devices and contact family members in other parts of the United States, as part of its key services to those waiting for their asylum cases to process.
Regional Center for Border Health is led by former Arizona State Senator Amanda Aguirre, who served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2003 until 2006, then in the Arizona State Senate through 2010, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Regional Center for Border Health revealed August 29 in the news section of its website that Aguirre (pictured above) was “appointed by the White House” to join the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Committee on Rural Health and Human Services.
The group explained Aguirre and the other board members “have the option to produce reports on key rural issues along with recommendations for possible solutions and may solicit input from the Department and the field regarding issues on which to focus.”
A federal website explains that such recommendations would be forwarded to HRSA Secretary Xavier Becerra and reveals that Aguirre is one of 12 members of the committee. The committee most recently met in Texas on Wednesday to discuss the opioid crisis in rural communities.
Gallego described the funding provided to the Regional Center for Border Health as “critical” in an August statement, and said he would continue to push for additional, similar funding in the future.
His Republican opponent, Kari Lake, who previously accused Gallego of misleading voters with new, moderate positions, said on Friday the Democrat is sending the money “to a liberal non-profit to help resettle illegal immigrants into Arizona.”
Lake wrote in a post to the social media platform X, “Ruben wants to give illegal immigrants amnesty, housing, job permits, [and] the right to vote. And he wants YOU to pay for it.”
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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 “Amanda Aguirre” by Regional Center for Border Health Logo Regional Center for Border Health, Inc.
