Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies has published a new report describing the United Nations’ program of handing out cash to so-called asylum seekers heading to the United States.
Bensman writes that UN officials work through a network of 228 non-profits and religious institutions to dispense the money, often in the form of renewable debit cards, to migrants at various points along a north-south corridor that passes through 17 Latin American countries.
Those officials represent a couple of UN organizations– United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)–which have asked for $1.72 billion in 2023. A full quarter of that amount–$450 million–is expected to go to migrants en route to the U.S. in Central and South America.
Of the $450 million, which is actually less than the $518 million doled out to illegal migrants in 2022, about $150 million will be given out in cash or debit cards to 631,000 migrants assumed already to be “in transit.” The debit cards can be legally used for virtually anything, excepting alcohol and cigarettes. The remaining $300 million plus will be given in the form of vouchers good for lodging and certain facets of travel.
The UN’s support of illegal migration is largely financed (of course) by the American taxpayer, which in FY 2020 contributed about $5.87 billion to UN agencies that deal with migration and refugee assistance.
Texas Rep. Lance Gooden (R), who last year proposed legislation to defund the United Nations, told CIS:
This is a slap in the face to American taxpayers who foot the bill for this corrupt globalist institution. Republicans must condition UN funding and stop this taxpayer funded invasion immediately.
Yes, they should, but we’ll see.
For more, see CIS.org.