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NGOs Role in the U.S. Border Crisis

Notes from the Deposit of Faith Coalition Press Conference, Washington D.C.

Sheena Rodriguez

Jul 22, 2023

This past Thursday, I was invited by the Church Militant for the first Deposit of Faith press conference. According to the Church Militant website, The Deposit of Faith Coalition is “an alliance of almost a dozen conservative religious groups is calling for the federal defunding of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as other members of the religious Left, owing to their radical "American last" agenda.”

I was one of four speakers speaking on topics ranging from attacks on freedom of speech (President of Great Lakes Justice Center, William Wagner), the climate hoax (Epoch Times author, Trevor Loudon), attacks on the 2nd amendment (Host of 2A for Today, Zoe Warren), and illegal immigration. I was invited to speak about the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claiming affiliation with the Catholic Church and the unprecedented border crisis currently unfolding in the United States.

Below is the content of my notes from the press conference. I am sharing this in hopes of spreading awareness and education on the topic.

“Opening Statement

What if I told you there are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that facilitate and profit from a process using your taxpayer money that places fellow human beings, including children, in vulnerable situations where there is a high possibility they will be taken advantage of by vicious cartel and transnational organizations who will exploit them by charging them money, which these vulnerable people often cannot afford, with the promise to bring them to the United States, further incentivized by our current policies, thrusting them into a modern-day slavery scheme.

Many of these international and domestic organizations are simultaneously working against U.S. immigration laws with the assistance of the Biden administration, which has given fuel to this mass modern-day slavery scheme in the most massive, unprecedented scale in modern history. And what if I then told you this was being done under what some may perceive as distorting fundamental Christian principles?

Let’s first discuss international NGO ties.

The International Organization of Migration (IOM) is the UN’s migration arm. The IOM website proudly boasts its affiliation with Catholic Organizations [1]and operates in the Vatican City State. The IOM champions the Global Compact of Migration and the International Compact for “Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration”[2].

The UN and IOM reference to “International Law” as they have defined it, under the assumption that it supersedes the law of sovereign nations. It operates under the self-proclaimed declaration of the UN that migration is a human right, often echoing far-left rhetorical lines such as no human is illegal [3] claiming that immigration enforcement by sovereign nations is “discriminatory,” “dehumanizing,” “outdated,” and “oppressive.”

There are several Catholic organizations operating on a global scale for migrants. The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)[4] is based in Geneva and works collaboratively with UNICEF and other international groups, including the World Economic Forum [5] (WEF), IOM. Instead of discouraging irregular migration, UNICEF [6], the IOM, and the Red Cross are a few of the organizations that operate in and around the Darien Gap. Instead of discouraging such a perilous journey, resulting in the rape and death of an untold number of migrants, these groups instead reportedly hand out rape kits to women and children.

War correspondent Michael Yon and others have documented these activities and revealed the contents of the kits, which include condoms and morning after abortion pills. I have personally witnessed what some have reported; condoms, pills, and pamphlets coaching illegal aliens how to skirt tail around the U.S. immigration system, all given by NGOs, left behind on the Texas banks of the Rio Grande and in Arizona along with the piles of trash and human waste[7].

Lobbying efforts on the federal and state levels actively work against Americans and our communities.

Catholic Charities often only speaks of reforming the broken immigration system, advocating to make it easier for “asylee seekers,” DACA recipients, and the need for increased legal pathways. Very rarely, if at all, with mentions of securing the borders as a necessity.

In an August 2022 statement, Catholic Charities USA [8] stated, “Migrants are vulnerable people who are fleeing their country of origin — typically because of war, violence, drug trafficking, ecological devastation, collapsing social order, failing economic conditions or other untenable situations that have made living there impossible.” Statements like these often give the perception that all, if not most, of the individuals apprehended at the border are all in dire need, fleeing from war or persecution, and are credible cases of asylum.

In my own experience, out of the thousands of illegal aliens I have encountered along the southern border, the overwhelming majority openly state they are coming to the United States for better financial opportunities. To be clear, economic reasons are not listed as credible claims for asylum.

It is difficult to imagine that individuals from over 160 countries and well over 8 million known apprehensions in such a short time span are all fleeing persecution at the same time and not influenced by other root causes, such as the incentivizing policies by our government and NGOs. In other words, many are, in fact, not claiming asylum, and those who do are often found to be not credible claims.

For example, out of more than 1.7 million encounters [9] at the southern border in 2021, according to DHS, less than 2% (29,869)[10] credible fear claims. In other words, the lack of evidence supporting their attempts to convince Americans that those they are helping are solely “asylum seekers” simply does not add up with verifiable data.

Furthermore, Catholic Charities and the Conference of Catholic Bishops displayed strong public opposition against the Congressional “Secure the Border Act of 2023”[11], along with continued objection against building a wall along the southern border and of any efforts they perceive or categorize as “restricting asylum”[12] claiming that would “cause the United States to violate its international obligations”… What of obligations to our country, and our communities as the US continues to face frightening increases in violent crimes, record high homelessness and many struggling to put food on the table with crushing inflation?

Catholic Charities often teams up with open border advocacy groups [13] such as RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services). RAICES maintains deep ties to several Soros-funded groups[14]. RAICES was one of the many groups that fiercely fought to end the DNA [15] testing for family units used to verify that the children coming over the border were, in fact, related to the adults brought into the U.S. after illegally crossing, despite ample evidence of fraudulent family units and exploitation.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) [16] was founded in 1988 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. CLINIC has received millions in support from George Soros [17] and has donated to several other domestic far-left border advocacy groups such as MALDEF [18].

Just last month, CLINIC [19] posted a demand letter calling on the Biden administration and DHS to “immediately cease conducting credible fear interviews in CBP custody and instead ensure that asylum seekers are given full and fair access to the U.S. asylum system” while praising Biden’s ending of President Trump’s “anti-asylum policies.” Interestingly, credible fear interviews are often part of the legal asylum process. Why the push to end such a practice? Could it be because if allowed to continue, Americans may realize the truth of the low number of credible asylum cases?

None of this comes without a hefty price tag.

Lobbying seemingly has advantages. The Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbied for a total of nearly $30 BILLION for appropriations of American taxpayer dollars for FY 2024 [20] related to addressing the rising need for immigration in the US.

FEMA Awards for 2023

Since early 2023 alone, more than $713 million have been allocated under various grants and awards to help aid with the border crisis. Most of which have been given back to the NGOs. However, the exact amounts are extraordinarily difficult to track.

NGOs also lobby in State Capitols – TEXAS

CC and other NGOs also caring for UACs receive millions in Texas taxpayer funds for the care of state foster care children. In other words, they not only receive large amounts of federal taxpayer money but also are rewarded with state contracts. However, there is no clear distinction easily available to the public of how the state funds allocated for American foster care children are kept separate from the care of those who illegally crossed into the US also in the care of the same NGOs.

During a time of such unprecedented numbers, CC and the Dioceses also lobby opposing the State of Texas’s efforts in attempting to secure our sovereign state border, and Texans often claim that such legislation works against alleged asylum seekers.

In 2021, Texas Gov Greg Abbott signed a proclamation [21] revoking state licensing for HHS-contracted NGOs operating facilities housing UACs. The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, which also lobbies for Catholic Charities, continued without a state license and was shortly after given an exemption allowing for a complete disregard of the Governor’s orders.

During the last regular Texas legislative session, there were 2 bills that aimed in different ways to provide state and local governments some much-needed oversight into these facilities operating in Texas. These facilities often put tremendous strain, especially on rural communities, and many times under the Biden administration, seemingly pop up overnight with little or no communications.

States must try to do something about these facilities. Yet, Catholic Charities was the main organization that actively lobbied against these bills. Simultaneously these same NGOs continued self-advocating efforts for more and more of Texas taxpayer funds.

So, what exactly is the role of NGOs such as Catholic Charities utilizing taxpayer funds to aid in furthering the unprecedented number of migrants into the interior of the U.S.?

On several occasions, while visiting the RGV area, I personally witnessed and interviewed numerous American homeless individuals who claimed they were forced out of the Catholic Charities shelter to make room for illegal aliens.

During Covid, while Americans were forced to stay home, children kept out of school, churches closed, and many American businesses forced shut, I witnessed rooms filled from wall to wall with migrants, which was later confirmed to me by employees working inside the facilities, at the RGV Catholic Charities location as they helped to facilitate the movement of unaccompanied minors, family units, and single adults further into the nation’s interior.

Many of the sick migrants were flown and bussed into metroplex areas in Texas, such as Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, for medical treatment, which helped to continue the reported high number of cases of Covid. CC and other faith-based NGOs continue to provide funds, transportation, and more to migrants who break our immigration laws with the use of taxpayer dollars. We are currently seeing similar transportation of sick migrants still, with Tuberculosis and Syphilis reports.

Again, done with a complete disregard for the safety of Americans and our communities.

Often, NGOs operate with a total disregard for state and federal law and with a complete lack of transparency while advocating for more migration with a sole focus on so-called international law. Essentially using taxpayer funds to further transport unaccompanied minors directly into the hands of unvetted sponsors, and according to whistleblowers, with a complete disregard for the actual safety of these children. Along with unverified family units to the destination of their choice.

As I testified before Congress, I have personally witnessed and spoken to young children along the border explaining to me that they were told by total and complete strangers, many of whom the minors claimed were working in NGOs, who to ask for when they arrived in the US. Often the children claimed they never met or did not personally know their alleged sponsors. While the news of the unaccompanied minors who DHS has conveniently lost track of has thankfully reached some news headlines, this is by no means a new phenomenon.

Verifiable cases of sex and labor trafficking of children with the use of taxpayer funds have been recorded for years and made significantly worse under the current administration. Meanwhile, groups affiliated with Catholic Charities and the USCCB advocate for even more relaxed procedures and faster turnaround on detention. Conveniently, many NGOs receive reimbursement per person, which would make a fast turnaround financially prudent.

What many may not realize is that DHS often relies on these NGOs for not only the care of unaccompanied minors but also for the vetting of potential sponsors. How many of the verifiable cases of trafficking children, and how many unknown cases, are a direct result of supposed vetting being done by these NGOs? This is a question we must all begin to seriously consider.

Is the Catholic congregation and Americans being lied to by these NGOs? Make no mistake, our God is a God of law and order and the Creator of sovereign Nations. As Christians, we are called to protect the innocent and the most vulnerable, not to help facilitate and promote that which is proven to create chaos and policies proven to further the exploitation of children in our country. Secure borders help to stop the exploitation of human beings and help to ensure law and order. It is our moral obligation to speak truth no matter how uncomfortable.

Advice for the audience on what actions can be taken.

The American people, the Catholic body, need and deserve honesty and transparency. Conveniently, as I have highlighted, “aiding migrants” often comes with high allocations of taxpayer funds. I agree with calls from Texas Governor Greg Abbot and several Congressional members who have called for various investigations into NGOs, particularly Catholic Charities. I believe that these NGOs should not only be investigated, but additionally, full transparency should be mandated. Not just for federal funding but any state funding as well.

I also would like to leave everyone with a call to action. We must advocate for a return to state sovereignty as our Founders properly intended. Begin becoming active in your state and advocate for local interior enforcement measures. If you’re in a border state, advocate for strong state-level border security measures along the state's international borders. But be prepared; you will likely find yourself, as I have, going toe to toe in opposition on legislation with Catholic Charities and other “faith-based” NGOs in your state capitol, but this must be done.

It is our Christian duty and obligation to take a stand and speak out against corruption and exploitation wherever it is encountered, starting first within our own congregations.”

It was an absolute honor and privilege to be asked and partake in this groundbreaking press conference and to stand with fellow Christians willing to hold NGOs accountable! For more information, please visit their website: Church Militant

Also, read the recent article detailing the entire press conference by the Epoch Times by clicking here.

Please also remember that Alliance for a Safe Texas is NOT funded by any large donors and currently relies solely on small donations from citizens who care about the issues and support our advocacy. Please consider making a donation of any amount by visiting our website: DONATE HERE

Thank you!

[1] Holy See | International Organization for Migration (iom.int)

[2] governingbodies.iom.int/system/files/en/council/110/C-110-INF-1 - IOM Strategic Vision.pdf

[3] TerminologyLeaflet_EN_PICUM.pdf (unhcr.org)

[4] Catholic Migration Commission extends global solidarity - Vatican News

[5] Davos: Church already dedicated to themes of Forum - Vatican News

[6] unicef - Search (bing.com)

[7] https://sheenarodriguez.substack.com/p/the-inconvenient-truth-about-child

[8] Recent Letters & Statements – Catholic Charities USA

[9] Southwest Land Border Encounters | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)

[10] Annual Flow Report FY 2021- Office of Immigration Statistics - Refugees and Asylees (RFA) (dhs.gov)

[11] U.S. bishops condemn ‘Secure the Border Act of 2023’ | Catholic News Agency