--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, Georgia Howe, speaks]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to Customs and Border Protection, a record one million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. since October. As a result of the influx, nearly 60 percent of Americans now characterize the situation on the border as a crisis. But how are so many migrants from far-flung nations able to make the treacherous journey to the U.S.? How are they feeding and housing themselves before and after they enter the country?
--:-- [Music fades out, and the host continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The answer to both of those questions centers on non-profits, many of them faith-based organizations who administer taxpayer-funded aid on both sides of the border. Critics argue these groups are incentivizing illegal immigration and promoting policies that many Americans oppose.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more conversational tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: In this episode, we explore the role religious non-profits play in both legal and illegal immigration. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Sunday, February 11th, and this is Morning Wire. Joining us now to discuss how faith-based charities provide aid to immigrants and why their work has become controversial is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Megan, most people are probably pretty aware that religious charities do minister to all classifications of immigrants. They may recognize some of the big names like Catholic Charities USA, Lutheran Social Services, World Relief, just to name a few. But when we think of these groups, I think most people think they're probably funded by private donations. But that's not correct, is it?
--:-- Megan Basham: No, very much not correct. In fact, the vast majority of the funding for the best known and largest tax-exempt NGOs who are involved in this immigration work comes from federal grants and contracts. So think taxpayer money. And we are talking about billions to provide aid, as you said, to both legal and illegal immigrants. and that includes refugees and asylum seekers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, this information is a few years old and the numbers are certainly higher now, but just to quantify it a little bit, in 2018, Capital Research, a think tank that studies nonprofits, put out a report that found, for example, that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops received 48 million just for refugee resettlement. World Relief, which is an arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, received 215 million for the same purpose. And the report called that a slow year.
--:-- Megan Basham: And it's worth noting here that an estimated 75 percent of those minors are aged 15 to 17, and many of them are young men. So I spoke to Todd Bensman, who is senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. Now, he was actually on his way to the border when I caught up with him. So the audio is not perfect here, but he did shed a lot of light on how these NGOs partner with the federal government and why it's really hard to pin down just how much immigration-related money they're receiving.
--:-- Todd Bensman: Honestly, I don't think anybody knows completely because it's like, you know, they're building the aircraft while flying. Still, the numbers of NGOs are burgeoning. There are two different things. There's contracts and there are grants. And they're different animals. And contracts are harder to track than the grants. And a lot of the NGOs have gotten so big that they split up into kind of components like, you know, Catholic Charities USA. But then there's Friends of Catholic Charities. There's Catholic Charities Pennsylvania. There's Catholic Charities. And each one of them is kind of their own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I see. So, Todd, you're saying that it's really hard to track how much money is being let out to these NGOs?
--:-- Todd Bensman: I don't think anybody's really done the exhaustive accounting on how much money is being let. But every once in a while you hear about a $400 million contract, no bid contract to HIAS or to Catholic charities. It's huge, huge money. I think it's in the billions and billions of dollars. It's an industrial complex. I call it sometimes the migrant advocacy industrial complex because it very much like in my mind the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us all about.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a really interesting point, Todd. So, the largest NGOs essentially administer funds for the government and distribute it to smaller NGOs who then in turn help settle immigrants in pretty much every state and city in the country.
--:-- Megan Basham: So just focusing on immigration aid and refugee resettlement, what percentage of the budgets for these groups are coming from taxpayers?
--:-- Todd Bensman: Well, you know, it depends on the NGO, but it can be anywhere from half to almost all of it. So Mark Krikorian, who is the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, was actually traveling with me to the border. So I got a little bit of a two-for-one interview here, and he put it this way. The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a really interesting point, Mark. So, you're saying that these NGOs are essentially government contractors, but they're posing as religious organizations?
--:-- Mark Krikorian: So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, that said, the NGOs do receive private donations as well, and they also receive support from some very large private foundations. The group Welcoming America, for instance, receives grants in the hundreds of thousands of dollars each from George Soros' Open Societies Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, and other really large grant makers like that.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what exactly are these NGOs doing with all that money? Well, just about anything you can think of that might touch on immigration. So things like helping migrants get across South America and the Darien Gap, to providing for their needs as they're waiting on the Mexican side of the border, to arranging legal representation to make asylum claims.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a really interesting point, Todd. So, these NGOs are essentially providing a conveyor belt for immigrants to get to the U.S.
--:-- Todd Bensman: That's what they're doing on the southern border. On the north, there are a great many more than 248. Nobody really knows. They're proliferating. Little tiny groups, big groups. There's contracts and subcontracts and sub-subcontracts that all come from the government. What that does is kind of a conveyor belt. It's a transportation conveyor belt that processes immigrants from border patrol release to buses, planes, and automobiles all along the border from Tijuana to Matamoros, and then transports them into cities, towns across the country, where other NGOs then take over who do more of a resettlement, you know, helping them find housing or kind of semi-permanent housing, or even permanent housing, welfare, benefits, and getting the kids at school, and also making sure that all their needs are met.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Megan, you spoke to Maureen Maloney, an advocate for victims of illegal alien crime. What did she have to say about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis?
--:-- Megan Basham: So I spoke to Maureen Maloney, an advocate for victims of illegal alien crime. And she told me she doesn't believe that many of the migrants who are streaming across South America and Mexico toward the U.S. border would make this dangerous journey if they didn't have religious groups offering support. Somebody is feeding them and providing for them through their whole journey here. And you know it's coming from these big NGO organizations, either providing before they cross the border or after they cross the border. And, you know, that's what really needs to be stopped, because a lot of that is coming from taxpayer money.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a really interesting point, Maureen. So, you're saying that the NGOs are essentially incentivizing illegal immigration by providing support to migrants?
--:-- Maureen Maloney: And so, you know, that's just another form of incentivizing them, because we know these people are coming from very poor countries and having to pay smugglers or cartels to get here. And then you're hearing about these journeys that they have, especially those that need to get through the Darien Gap. You know, that's like a week I think it takes to get through there. Somebody is funding it. And so the more organizations that provide funding for people to get here to the southern border, cross over and then continue to fund them once they're here, they're just going to keep coming.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. What did he have to say about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis?
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, the attractions for entering the U.S. illegally have expanded as it's become much easier to claim asylum, even though only about 32 percent of asylum claims are granted. But it can take years for a claim to be processed. And the Biden administration has expanded certain benefits that used to be reserved only for those who had been granted refugee status before they were admitted to the country. So think like refugees from Afghanistan. So that's also providing an added attraction for new migrants as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, it's understandably controversial, though, to criticize these religious aid groups because, I mean, essentially they're just aiding needy people. Yeah, and it can be difficult to weigh helping vulnerable foreign populations with the needs of citizens. And on the other side of this question, there are those who have been harmed by illegal immigration, and many of them are opposed to this broad federal funding for NGOs to carry out this work.
--:-- Megan Basham: So I spoke to Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. And he told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens, the VP of policy at World Relief. What did he have to say about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens, the VP of policy at World Relief, told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Maureen Maloney about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did she have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Maureen Maloney told me that the NGOs are essentially incentivizing illegal immigration by providing support to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Maureen Maloney: And so, you know, that's just another form of incentivizing them, because we know these people are coming from very poor countries and having to pay smugglers or cartels to get here. And then you're hearing about these journeys that they have, especially those that need to get through the Darien Gap. You know, that's like a week I think it takes to get through there. Somebody is funding it. And so the more organizations that provide funding for people to get here to the southern border, cross over and then continue to fund them once they're here, they're just going to keep coming.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Matthew Sorens about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Matthew Sorens told me that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also advocating for policy changes that would benefit migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just neutral providers of aid, but they're also taking a side in the immigration debate.
--:-- Matthew Sorens: One thing we've supported at World Relief is called the Dignity Act. That would dramatically increase asylum adjudication capacity. It would also create campuses at the border where people could be held in humane settings to have that initial processing done instead of being held between the border fences, which is what's happening here in San Diego right now in some cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark Krikorian told me that the NGOs are essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also influencing policy.
--:-- Mark Krikorian: The interesting thing is that the grants are often constitute either a majority, sometimes over 90 percent of the income of these or the revenue of these organizations. They're essentially government contractors posing as religious organizations. So we're paying for this border crisis that would probably happen whether we were paying for it or not, but we're definitely helping it and speeding it and moving it along.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Todd Bensman about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the United Nations?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Todd Bensman told me that the NGOs are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, to provide aid to migrants. And that's a really interesting point, because it suggests that the NGOs are not just providing aid to migrants, but they're also working with international organizations to influence policy.
--:-- Todd Bensman: They operate south of the border all the way to South America. At least 248 of them are working directly with the United Nations, IOM and UNHCR, spreading cash, debit cards, cash and envelopes, food, clothing, shelter, medical, transportation, subsidies to get them moving. Really every basic human need that a U.S.-bound immigrant would require for a long journey from wherever at waste stations throughout Latin America and Mexico all the way to our border so that nobody who's thinking about leaving their village need ever really worry too much about going without anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Megan, you also spoke to Mark Krikorian about the role of NGOs in the immigration crisis. What did he have to say about the relationship between the NGOs and the government?
--:-- Megan Basham: So Mark
