Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is repeating a misleading claim that migrants don’t get free transportation and travel to the southern border thanks to the US government – as it seeks to tackle misinformation disseminated by smugglers.
“Claims that migrants will receive free travel and transportation to their destination are false,” CBP said in a tweet. “The U.S. government does not provide aid or financial support to noncitizens.”
The advisory is similar to previous advisories issued by the US government. The claim that the United States does not directly provide financial assistance and/or free transportation to migrants is technically true. Adult migrants encountered by Border Patrol are processed and released in the United States and do not receive money or transportation directly from the US government. A major exception is for unaccompanied children (UACs), who are often transported to sponsors – usually a parent or relative already in the United States – across the country after being transferred from Border Patrol to Health Care and of social services (HHS).
However, the tweet also leaves out the close cooperation between the US government and non-governmental organizations. Migrants are often handed over directly to NGOs that help migrants reach their destination, including helping them with transportation, and which receive funding from the federal government.
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Immigrants walk through barbed wire after crossing from Mexico to El Paso, Texas on May 11, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
This funding comes from awards from the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter program, which “provides support to organizations for their work in providing food, shelter, and services to individuals and families encountered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who are entered through the southwestern border and are now awaiting their immigration court proceedings.”
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In May, DHS announced $332.5 million in funding through the program, in addition to $71 million in December “to assist communities receiving discharged non-citizens pending the outcome of their discharge proceedings. ‘immigration”. This money includes funding for local governments as well as NGOs. These grants enable services that include food, accommodation and transportation to the migrants’ final destinations.
An April Government Accountability Office report looked into the issue and found that nonprofits provide services including food, clothing, COVID-19 testing, transportation to airports or bus stations and assistance with booking travel to other locations in the United States.
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An analysis of $10 million in program reimbursements in FY21 found that the majority of that amount was spent on food and housing, with transportation accounting for about 10% of that amount.
“Transportation services include payments made to arrange transportation for non-citizens. This category includes local transportation, such as to a nearby airport, and long-distance transportation, such as to another city or state in the United States “, says the report.
However, he spoke with three nonprofits who, according to the report, “said that, in most cases, the non-citizens they serve pay for their own travel to their final destinations at the interior of the United States”.
Additionally, some states such as Texas and Arizona have provided their own free transportation to migrants wishing to travel to “sanctuary cities” such as New York, Washington DC, Denver, and Chicago.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent migrants to sanctuary cities like New York. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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CBP’s tweet comes as DHS has continued to try to counter some misinformation being spread by smugglers to trick migrants into buying their services and making the dangerous journey north, often to be exploited by cartels. even after their arrival.
The administration has repeatedly urged migrants to avail themselves of legal asylum avenues, which have been significantly expanded under the administration. There are indications that this strategy could work, with officials touting a 70% drop in migrant encounters from the 10,000+ per day seen in the days before the Title 42 public health order ended on the 11th. May, down to just 3,000 a day in recent days, officials said.
