(ConservativeSense.com) – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to claw back $5 million in federal grant money from Pima County, Arizona, and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego is trying to stop it.
The Democrat from Arizona sent a letter to DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas to ask why DHS wants his state to give back $5.2 million from fiscal year 2022. That money was sent to the county from the federal government under the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSPH). Some states, like Arizona, have used that money to deal with the historic influx of illegal aliens that have swarmed across the border under President Joe Biden’s effectively “open border” policy.
Apparently, Pima County has requested an extension of the period in which they’re allowed to spend the money twice, and DHS has denied that request twice. Before this year, Pima was getting about 7,000 “migrants” per month (not per year, per month). Now? It’s up to 15,000 every month.
Gallego wrote that “this funding is critical” during this historic influx of foreigners, and the DHS’ “lack of transparency is unacceptable.” Without permission to spend that money, Gallego wrote, Pima County will have to drain money from other projects, pushing the county closer to a “fiscal cliff” as early as March of 2024.
Gallego’s letter outlined what Arizona has to contend with. The monthly tab for “asylum seekers” jumped from $2.8 million each month to $3.9 million each month just in the period from June to October of 2023. Despite using “the most cost-efficient practices,” Gallego wrote, it’s not enough. The food bill alone has risen nearly 300 percent, and transportation costs have nearly doubled.
When asked about the denial of Pima’s request by Fox News, DHS said an “independent board” made the decision. DHS merely repeated that it decided not to issue the extension, but without saying why it made that decision.
Meanwhile, the sea of “migrants” continues unabated into border states like Arizona. In the past week, border agents have handled up to 10,000 immigrants per day on several separate days.
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