Between 2020 and 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) significantly increased funding for migrants, offering substantial grants, including cash assistance for purchasing vehicles, homes, and establishing credit for new businesses. An alarming report from a watchdog has highlighted that taxpayers could be responsible for an astonishing $22.6 billion in expenses.

The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which faced criticism last year for reportedly having lost track of 32,000 migrant children in the US, distributed a substantial amount to various nonprofit organizations, effectively becoming a “magnet” for individuals crossing the US border and seeking asylum. This revelation was exclusively reported by auditors from OpenTheBooks for The Post.

The ORR’s role involves facilitating the arrival of migrants, asylum seekers, and other refugees in the United States. During President Biden’s administration, the number of noncitizens eligible for financial support surged, with over $10 billion allocated to organizations receiving grants in the fiscal year 2023 alone.

This funding trend coincided with record-high numbers of encounters at the southern US border, with Customs and Border Protection reporting 2.4 million apprehensions during the same period.

Taxpayers were billed for up to $1.7 billion in services, which included matching savings programs for vehicles, homes, educational expenses, or business startups; small business loans reaching up to $15,000; credit repair loans of up to $1,500; as well as provisions for “cultural orientation,” “emergency housing assistance,” legal support, and Medicaid services.

However, some programs restricted eligibility to migrants or refugees who had resided in the US for multiple years or had employment that placed them around double the federal poverty level.

Notably, the largest allocation of funds was directed towards unaccompanied migrant children, totaling $12.4 billion over five years, despite reports from federal whistleblowers pointing to ORR’s questionable placements of these 291,000 minors with unvetted and sometimes abusive sponsors.

According to OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart, “The Shining City on a Hill, known for its acceptance of legal immigrants and genuine refugees, has seen the ORR distort this vision in recent years.”

He added that the ORR is part of a worrisome trend of employing nonprofit organizations as ideological representatives, diverting significant funds to avoid accountability and maintaining an unethical system detrimental to American citizens and those overseas seeking a better life.

The latest report arrives on the heels of criticism directed toward FEMA for allocating approximately $80 million, a sum that was later reclaimed, for addressing the needs of migrants in New York City hotels.

The annual funding breakdown reveals expenditure of more than $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2020, $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2021, $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2022, $10 billion in fiscal year 2023, and an anticipated $4.2 billion in fiscal year 2024.

It’s essential to note that these figures represent obligated spending, indicating that not all allocated funds have been distributed as of yet.

Eligible migrant groups for the grant programs included individuals from Cuba and Haiti, humanitarian parolees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, special immigrant visa holders from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as unaccompanied minors arriving from abroad.

The watchdog group emphasized that this significant funding surge coincided with ORR’s initiatives to expand migrants’ access to legal representation and to lessen the requirement for other noncitizens, including refugees, to achieve economic independence swiftly.

Over the last four fiscal years, two of the major beneficiaries of these funds were Church World Services, known for opposing an agreement that was designed to close an asylum loophole between Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the International Rescue Committee.

Since 2020, Church World Services has received $355 million in grants, while the International Rescue Committee has obtained $598 million, according to the OpenTheBooks report.

Robin Dunn Marcos, the senior HHS official in charge of the ORR’s solo migrant child program during part of this timeframe, previously worked for over 30 years in various nonprofit roles.

In June 2023, Dunn Marcos testified before Congress that her department had not conducted criminal background checks on minors, which is particularly concerning as the program allowed hundreds of thousands of migrant children into the system.

According to reports from the New York Times, then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra had urged his team to expedite the release of migrant children to their sponsors, likening the rapid transition to an “assembly line.”

Hart highlighted the serious implications of ORR’s handling of migrant children, arguing it reflects “the Left’s false compassion regarding immigration.”

“Losing track of 300,000 children undermines their dignity and exposes them to risks,” he stated.

The OpenTheBooks report also suggested that Dunn Marcos’ previous affiliations with nonprofits that received ORR grants might represent a “conflict of interest.”

Representatives from Dunn Marcos’ office insisted that after her appointment in September 2022, she recused herself from approving funding related to any former employers.

OpenTheBooks has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with ORR’s parent body, the Administration for Children and Families, where Dunn Marcos had served until recently. The group pointed out that correspondence bounce-backs suggest she left her government position following President Trump’s inauguration.

“While Dunn Marcos may no longer be with ORR, we still question whether particular nonprofit organizations received preferential treatment amid the vast sums allocated by this government office,” the report concludes.

“What is evident is that ORR has financed numerous NGOs operating in border states and across the nation, providing aid intended to attract an influx of migrants.”

HHS representatives have yet to respond to requests for comments.