How Much Are Illegal Aliens Getting in Freebies for Crossing Biden’s Open Border?

Biden’s border crisis is worse than you think

A sheriff in Arizona who is also running for U.S. Senate, Mark Lamb, made a shocking claim recently: Illegal immigrants are given prepaid Visa debit cards charged with $5,000 spending money when they cross the southern border into America. Of course, when Newsweek reported it they painted Lamb, a Trump-supporting Republican, as a conspiracy theorist and gave his claims no merit.

Lamb, the Pinal County Sheriff, made the claims in a video on X/Twitter:

As the head law enforcement officer of the third-largest county in the border state of Arizona, one suspects Lamb isn’t prone to flights of exaggeration. Pinal County sits one county away from the U.S.-Mexico border, putting it on the front lines of the invasion happening at Joe Biden’s open border.

Newsweek did mention, after several paragraphs dedicated to debunking Lamb’s claims, that Lamb said the money probably didn’t come directly from the federal government. Rather, he said it probably came from NGOs, charities, and other nonprofit agencies using federal grants. Small comfort for the taxpayers of the United States.

Of course, had Newsweek done any research other than calling spokespeople for Biden’s Customs and Border Patrol, they could have learned how much funding the federal government doles out to non-profits, as well as United Nations agencies that support “migrants” on their journeys. In fact, one of their frequent contributors, Todd Bensman, has done this reporting already. Bensman, who contributes to several outlets including Newsweek, is the Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. Previously, he led counterterrorism intelligence for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Bensman reports hundreds of thousands of migrants approved by the Biden administration for “secretive foreign flights directly into U.S. airports,” after arranging entry using the CBP One smartphone app. Almost none of these folks getting flights into the U.S. have any sort of vetting to ensure they don’t pose national security risks. Bensman estimates thousands of special interest aliens have made their way across the border.

An Illegal Highway

Secret flights are just one example. International agencies and NGOs provide transportation all along the Central American migration routes into Mexico:

Once they get across the border, all sorts of incentives await.

In just one example, Illinois has helped settle migrants in Chicago with up to $9,000 in rental assistance, move-in help, and a “starter kit” to furnish the apartment. Bensman cites another Customs and Immigration Service program aimed at Cuban and Haitian “entrants,” providing cash assistance, medical care, federal benefits, and other programs:

Are you a Cuban or Haitian individual who has been granted entry into the United States? You may be eligible for cash assistance, medical assistance . . . federal ‘mainstream’ benefits, such as cash assistance through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) . . .

At least illegals can’t vote, right?

Right?

Bums of the Big Apple… Who Vote

A recent inquiry by a sitting representative in congress dashes those hopes. Staten Island doesn’t immediately leap to mind when one ponders the border crisis, but as a sanctuary city, New York has seen more than its share of illegal aliens during the Biden presidency. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, NYC’s only Republican congresswoman, filed a Freedom of Information Law request recently to review New York City’s contract with Homes for the Homeless.

She discovered the city is requiring migrant shelter contractors to distribute voter registration cards, assist migrants in registering to vote and promote campaign material within the shelters themselves, while prohibiting them from inquiring about citizenship status:

Malliotakis had previously expressed concerns that migrants would be eligible to vote under Local Law 11 passed by the City Council under Mayor Bill de Blasio. In January 2022, Malliotakis and other Staten Island Republican elected officials sued to stop the law from taking effect. In June, a Staten Island judge ruled in their favor, however, Mayor Adams appealed the decision and a final determination has not been made by the Appellate Court.

‘There is nothing more important than preserving the integrity of our election system,’ said Congresswoman Malliotakis. ‘The right to vote is a sacred right given only to United States citizens, and certainly not one provided to those who crossed over our border illegally and made their way to New York City last month.

‘The City better not be acting in violation of the judge’s ruling that struck down the noncitizen voting law that would have allowed 800,000 noncitizens with a Green Card or Work Authorization and who have resided in New York City for 30 days, to vote,’ she said.

Malliotakis further noted the city is requiring contractors to distribute registration forms while prohibiting them from asking citizenship status. In an interview with Newsmax, she reminded voters Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams have provided free incentives to illegals, including housing, education, free attorney services, and other perks. She said, “They are incentivizing this problem, and they’re not working with us to resolve it.”

Other states have given out “driver’s cards” to illegal aliens for years. A total of sixteen states allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses or driver’s cards, depending on the jurisdiction. Advocates say the illegal aliens need the documentation to get back and forth to work, and to obtain insurance. Critics ask, “What job? Aren’t they barred from working under E-Verify?” One wonders why illegal immigrants would comply with these laws, when they didn’t comply with the laws against illegal entry into the United States in the first place.

In review: a foreign national who decides to listen to international agencies and NGOs and their advertisements to walk through South and Central America, across Mexico, and illegally cross into the United States can expect to get the following freebies:

• Maps, transportation, and cash assistance along the migration route
• Instructions from international agencies and the U.S. government on where and how to cross
• Free cell phones and apps to provide a portal to apply for entry, as well as free communications
• Cash assistance, rental assistance, and shelter in US cities
• Long-term benefits, including Social Security, Medicaid, legal services, and many other social welfare programs originally intended for U.S. citizens
• Freedom from harassment in many jurisdictions, and the freedom not to answer questions about immigration status

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), an agency of the UN, coordinates funding and operations support for most of these efforts. The United States is, by far, the largest funder of the IOM. The IOM states its mission on its website, including the advancement of Agenda 2030:

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that migration is a powerful driver of sustainable development, for migrants and their communities. It brings significant benefits in the form of skills, strengthening the labour force, investment and cultural diversity, and contributes to improving the lives of communities in their countries of origin through the transfer of skills and financial resources.

The benefits of migration should not be seen only from the perspective of what migrants can bring to any given territory. The relationship between migration and development is much more complex: the political, social and economic processes of potential destination countries will also determine how, where and when migration occurs. If migration is poorly governed, it can also negatively impact on development. Migrants can be put at risk and communities can come under strain.

As outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, “migration is a multi-dimensional reality that cannot be addressed by one government policy sector alone”. IOM therefore applies a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to migration governance, striving to ensure that migration and migrants’ needs are considered across all policy areas, laws and regulations from health to education and from fiscal policies to trade. 

This list of freebies is hardly exhaustive, but it goes a long way to demonstrate just how much illegal aliens get in handouts, much of it funded by the taxpayers of the United States.