Immigration

GOP reps demand answers about suspect migrant housing contracts

Published

7 months ago

May 13, 2021

Staff Writer

A month after Health and Human Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement signed a contract with Endeavors Inc. to house migrant families, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), James Comer (R-KY) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) are demanding more information surrounding the deal.

Previously, all ICE revealed was that it was an $86.9 million deal that would provide 1,200 beds for families. These families spend less than 72 hours in these hotels at a time. HHS also has a contract with Endeavors Inc. for about $530 million.

Now, in a series of letters, the GOP representatives want to know exactly which hotels are housing these families, including the meals and rooms provided to them. They are also calling for a full accounting of all expenses and all communications between the parties involved. The letters have been penned to Endeavors President and CEO Jon Allman, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson.

This contract is suspicious for several reasons, the members say. Among them, Endeavors hired a former ICE official and Biden-Harris transition team advisors as its senior director for migrant services and federal affairs right after the contract was finalized. It was also a no-bid contract. So, Jordan, Comer, and McClintock have given the three organizations till May 27th to hand it all over.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism

Immigration

DHS Secretary Mayorkas Says We Cannot Remove ‘11 Million Undocumented Individuals’ Unlawfully in U.S.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 19, 2021

Staff Writer

DHS Secretary Mayorkas

Troubling details were unearthed during the questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by the Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Grassley asked Mayorkas about a DHS memo from September 30 which reads: “The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen will not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.”

“Does that reasoning apply to the [1.2] million illegal immigrants who have received due process and been given a final order of removal by an immigration judge?” Grassley asked Mayorkas.

“We cannot remove 1.2 million individuals, nor can we remove more than 11 million undocumented individuals, individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States, who might not have final orders of removal” Mayorkas answered.

Mayorkas also stated that he had issued the due process policy after drawing on “tremendous experience not only as a member of the Department of Homeland Security but as a federal prosecutor.”

Grassley pressed Mayorkas, asking, “should any of them be removed?”

“Of course,” Mayorkas said. “I do believe that individuals who pose a public safety threat, who pose a national security threat, who pose a border security threat, should be removed, and we should be smart and effective in our use of resources, and we should focus on the well-being of our communities and prioritize individuals for removal.”

In his opening statements, Grassley addressed Mayorkas and stated, “When you allow the ACLU and open-borders immigration activists rather than career law enforcement professionals to dictate the terms of your immigration and border policies, then you shouldn’t be surprised when record-shattering numbers of people start showing up at the border to take advantage of that.”

Grassley continued, “When you run DHS like it’s an ‘Abolish ICE’ fan club, you shouldn’t be surprised when you have an illegal immigration crisis on your hands.”