A Republican-led House committee Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was subpoenaed on Wednesday When his agency refused to provide information about taxpayer-subsidized housing for immigrants.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) demanded Becerra to answer questions about housing assistance funding and referrals in July. Provided to border crossers by HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR),
“(S) Beginning in July 2024, we asked for information on ORR’s coordination with the Department of State, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Homeland Security to use taxpayer dollars to pay for housing assistance for aliens in the country Is.” Jordan wrote.
“The Committee also sought information about ORR’s relationship with Church World Service and the organization’s Refugee Housing Solutions, through which aliens can be connected to housing resources.”
Judicial staff have been back-and-forth with ORR about the requested records since the summer — only receiving seven pages of documents on October 4, which contained “nothing of substance and possibly all relevant documents in the possession or control of HHS.” And communication could not be included,” the letter notes.
Jordan, who demanded the records by October 30, said, “Failure to provide the requested materials hinders the committee’s ability to fulfill its constitutional oversight obligations.”
Immigrants have flocked to the US from around the world over the past three and a half years in search of economic opportunities – many of which have been boosted by taxpayer-funded federal, state and local programs.
In New York City alone, total spending on services such as housing, food and medical costs for immigrants has already above $5 billion From the beginning of fiscal year 2023 onwards.
Historic hotels like the Roosevelt in Midtown and other hotels near tourist districts broadway Have been converted into emergency shelters for asylum seekers.
Some immigrants at the Roosevelt were also given prepaid credit cards earlier this year, with a monthly rate of $35 per day – which was $53 million spent on a pilot program,
Jordanian committee first issued a report Listed a range of other federal benefit programs to provide housing, food and health care available to immigrants entering the US in July.
The immigration and refugee program for Church World Service is run by Erol Cekic, Critics of the Trump administration’s refugee, asylum, and border policies,
Under President Biden, Kekic’s group has helped many immigrants Travel through border states like Texas To repopulate so-called “sanctuary” cities like New York.
Representatives for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Health and Human Services(T)House Judiciary Committee(T)Housing(T)Illegal Immigrants(T)Immigrants(T)Republicans(T)US Border Crisis
