President Joe Biden's immigration policies have alarmed congressional Republicans, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is now calling out the administration for its plans to spend $86.9 million on housing for illegals.
Blackburn wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tae Johnson seeking answers on the Biden-awarded contract through the nonprofit Endeavors, asking about its past financial disclosures on how the $86.9 million will be spent, Fox News reported Tuesday.
Blackburn noted Endeavors brought in more than "$38 million in contributions and grants" in 2018 and "IRS filings show that nearly $22 million or almost half of those contributions went to salaries," according to the report.
"This raises questions if half of the $86.9 million in ICE contract proceeds will likewise be allocated toward employee and executive compensation instead of migrant services or housing," Blackburn's letter, obtained by Fox News, read.
"As the current contract stands, the cost to taxpayers for housing 1,200 migrant families for six months is about $71,000 per person. For a family of four, that amounts to a shocking $284,000 — enough to buy a small house."
Endeavors is contracted by ICE to provide 1,239 beds and "other necessary services" – including health assessments and COVID-19 testing – for migrant families, according to the report.
"It is unclear whether this nonprofit has ever previously managed a contract of this magnitude, housed a migrant population of this size, or served vulnerable children without putting them at further risk," Blackburn's letter continued, according to Fox News.
"DHS and ICE must provide commitments to assure Congress and the American public that Endeavors is up for the task of securely and efficiently housing illegal immigrants without resulting in waste or abuse of taxpayer dollars, or worse, harming vulnerable migrant children."
Blackburn also seeks a copy of the contract, including which hotels will be used, the rates charged, and who will be charged, Endeavors or DHS, according to the report.
Among other questions, Blackburn's letter demands a reponse by April 15.
"It is beyond me that the Biden administration has chosen to sit on their hands, open the border, and then absolutely lie to the American people saying, 'well, the border is closed; it is a challenge; things are under control,'" Blackburn told Newsmax TV's "National Report" last week.
"It is not. It is out of control.
"Drugs and human beings are being trafficked into this country every minute of every day. And, because of that, every town's a border town – every state is a border state – until we get this border secured."
Blackburn was also disgusted President Joe Biden's move on the border was not to visit it, take it head on, or even consider it a "crisis," instead giving the task to Vice President Kamala Harris to deal with.
"It is disappointing to know that someone who doesn't even think it's a crime to cross the border is going to be the one in charge of this," she lamented to co-host Emma Rechenberg.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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