The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) denied that the federal government provides help or financial assistance to illegal immigrants, prompting a torrent of fact-checkers to come along and state that they are lying.
“NOTICE: Claims that migrants will be provided free travel and transportation to their destination are false,” the CBP’s official Twitter feed posted Thursday. “The U.S. government does not provide help or financial support for noncitizens.”
It is the second time they have made such a claim, posting a duplicate tweet roughly one month ago.
It is unclear what “claims” they are referencing or if the group was simply trying to get out in front of a situation in which illegal aliens coming in are expecting travel and transportation to new locations to be provided.
Regardless, several sources were quick to jump all over the CBP’s claims calling them alternately misleading, false, or a flat-out lie.
NOTICE: Claims that migrants will be provided free travel and transportation to their destination are false. The U.S. government does not provide help or financial support for noncitizens. pic.twitter.com/tuCB7E8uEk
— CBP (@CBP) May 25, 2023
CBP Gets a Brutal Fact Check or Two
The Heritage Foundation think tank came along and, not pleased with the length of time Twitter’s Community Notes was taking to correct the CBP statement, provided their own fact check.
“Since @CommunityNotes hasn’t shown up yet, we’ll say it. This is a lie,” they wrote. “The U.S. Government pays NGO’s to do the work for them.”
The Heritage Foundation provided a link to their research showing the federal government uses charities “to hide the true cost of the border crisis.”
The report calls the funding of NGO’s through taxpayer funds Biden’s “dirty little secret” and describes them as “charities or religiously affiliated nonprofits but who spend most of their money and time helping illegal immigrants settle in the United States.”
That’s right. Your money helping to resettle illegal aliens into America so they can take even more of your money through social services or by taking jobs from Americans or legal immigrants.
Since @CommunityNotes hasn’t shown up yet, we’ll say it. This is a lie.
The U.S. Government pays NGO’s to do the work for them. Here’s how the Feds use charities to hide the costs of the self-inflicted border crisis: https://t.co/qadMCQT01f
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) May 25, 2023
RELATED: Texas Blocks Border Crossing Where Soldier Was Seen Opening Gate for Illegal Immigrants
More Call Out CBP’s Lies
Twitter’s Community Notes did catch up to the situation and slapped the CBP’s tweet with a little fact-check of their own.
“This statement by CBP is misleading as the federal government funds non-government organizations such as Catholic charities to assist in the travel, food, and shelter for illegal aliens and is coordinated by FEMA,” the label reads.
They provide a link to FEMA’s website promoting over $332 million in grants to provide “food, shelter, and services to individuals and families … who entered through the Southwestern Border and who are now awaiting their immigration court proceedings.”
This is false. Migrants have their travel coordinated with NGO’s like Catholic charities with the help from the federal government. I witnessed firsthand in Brownsville the countless bus and flight tickets issued like this one after being processed. https://t.co/Nus4iJFBvu pic.twitter.com/qIRaWAF3QS
— Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) May 25, 2023
Oh, good. So they’re only providing help and financial assistance until their court dates. Well, at least that shouldn’t take long, right?
Except, as The Political Insider reported earlier this month, documentation provided to illegal immigrants at the border had some being provided with court dates set as late as 2032 and 2035 in Chicago and Florida.
Potentially twelve years of financial assistance and the CBP wants you to believe that nah, we don’t provide financial support for illegal immigrants.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin also called the CBP out over their statement.
“This is blatantly false,” he tweeted.
“The U.S. government indirectly provides financial support for migrants by giving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to NGOs via FEMA’s Emergency Food & Shelter Program,” Melugin continued. “The NGOs then assist migrants w/ transportation around U.S & other services.”
This is blatantly false.
The U.S. government indirectly provides financial support for migrants by giving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to NGOs via FEMA’s Emergency Food & Shelter Program. The NGOs then assist migrants w/ transportation around U.S & other services. https://t.co/fJ3FKVZ04v
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 25, 2023
Melugin just weeks ago posted a video showing a female National Guard soldier opening a gate and allowing a large crowd of illegal immigrants across the border onto private property in Texas.
I asked the Texas National Guard if this is one of their soldiers who opens the gate for the group of migrants. They tell me she is NOT a TX soldier & is not TX ARNG. I’m told she is a Title 10 soldier from the Missouri ARNG under orders from the federal gov & working w/ BP. pic.twitter.com/zKWy121u1K
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 16, 2023
The soldier did so, Melugin reported, because she “was following CBP directives to open the gate because the migrants had already crossed onto US soil and needed to be processed.”
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