Waste of the Day: Billions Spent On Controversial Immigration Aid

Topline: The Office of Refugee Resettlement spent $4.2 billion on grants in fiscal year 2024, bringing the agency’s five-year total to $22.6 billion since 2020, according to new findings from OpenTheBooks.

Immigrants have a direct incentive to cross the border and (pretend to) seek asylum

Key facts: The Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, is part of the Administration for Children and Families, and its grant spending for immigrants includes legal aid, “cultural orientation,” loans for college tuition and small businesses, and even direct cash assistance — arguably incentivizing immigrants to cross the border and seek asylum.

The agency has recently tried to make its services even easier to access. Immigrants relying on ORR are required to become self-sufficient “as quickly as possible,” but the agency tried to remove the requirement in its 2023 budget request.

The ORR has spent $12.4 billion since 2020 on grants for unaccompanied minors, the New York Post reported, while serious mistakes took place.

The New York Times reported in 2023 that 85,000 children went missing after being sent to sponsors approved by ORR. Tom Homan, the new “border czar” under President Donald Trump, said he believes the number of missing children is actually 300,000.

Misappropriation?

Background: ORR’s former director Robin Dunn Marcos no longer works at the agency, according to an automated email response OpenTheBooks received this February.

When Dunn Marcos was in charge in 2023 and 2024, ORR awarded $337 million in grants to her former employer of 23 years, International Rescue Committee, more than any other recipient. Their total funding since 2020 amounted to $598 million.

Church World Service, where Dunn Marcos worked for four years, was another top awardee, at $355 million since 2020.

ORR told OpenTheBooks in an email that Dunn Marcos was not involved in any conversations about funding for her former employers. OpenTheBooks filed a Freedom of Information Act request for Dunn Marcos’ emails in May 2023 but we have yet to receive any records.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.

Summary: Tax dollars should be spent transparently on services that help legal immigrants and those legitimately seeking asylum, not sent to nonprofits with varying ideological agendas to attract more migrants.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RCI and made available via RealClearWire.