U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has expressed concerns to the Federal Newswire regarding the use of taxpayer funds by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He alleges that these funds are enabling illegal activities at the border, including "lawbreakers" who smuggle illegal immigrants across the border. Gosar represents Arizona's 9th District.
"The misuse of taxpayer funds by NGOs to assist illegal aliens erodes public trust, undermines the rule of law and does nothing more than condones and enables illegal activities by encouraging lawbreakers that it acceptable to cross our border unlawfully,” stated Congressman Gosar," said Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ), U.S. Rep from Arizona.
As previously reported by the Federal Newswire, both state and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have been granting millions of dollars to faith-based NGOs to support their humanitarian aid efforts for immigrants. A report from the United Nations (U.N.) found that over 200 NGOs received $1.6 billion in humanitarian aid to assist migrants in 2024. The U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security also provide financial grants to these NGOs, potentially facilitating illegal immigration. One such organization, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), has spent millions of dollars assisting migrants on their journey to the border.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reports that Catholic Charities and its affiliates receive millions of dollars in grants every year. Caritas, an organization whose website states it is "inspired by the Catholic faith," is actively dispersing $12 million to migrants in Latin America through cash and cash vouchers.
Complicit Clergy provides information about another Catholic NGO, Covenant House, which aims to provide housing for homeless or trafficked youths aged between 16 and 21. According to this charity’s most recent 990 Form, it raised approximately $91 million in 2022 and recorded a sum of approximately $70 million in taxpayer funds between 2021 and 2023. Covenant House is just one among many Catholic charities across the U.S., receiving such funding.
Data from USAspending.gov indicates that in 2023 alone, the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and USAID granted $1.4 billion to NGOs.
According to his biography on his website, Gosar, a Republican congressman from Arizona, was elected in 2010 and is currently serving his seventh term in Congress.
