Turning Point USA

A new report uncovered that the ongoing crisis at the border created a business boom for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work along the US border in states like Texas, Arizona, and California.

The US Department of Health and Human Services is tasked with resettling unaccompanied children with their migrant parents, though an investigation from The Free Press found that the federal government delegates many of these tasks to NGOs. Given the massive swell of migrants at the southern border, the salaries for NGO CEOs have seen a marked uptick as well. 

The Free Press investigation focused on three prominent NGOs working at the southern border: Global Refuge, Southwest Key Program, and Endeavors, Inc. Each organization saw a combined revenue increase of approximately $597 million to $2 billion between 2019 and 2022. 

The CEOs of these three NGOs saw padded salaries as well, with the CEO of Southwest Key Programs making over $1 million. The CEOs of Endeavors, Inc. and Global Refuge saw a salary bump from $250,000 in 2019 to more than $500,000 by 2022. 

These NGOs get the majority of their funding from the federal government and provide services to illegal immigrants ranging from procuring hotel accommodations to “horticulture therapy.” Endeavors’ 2022 financial disclosure forms show that the NGO received 99.6% of its revenue from the federal government. 

Endeavors alone paid $5 million to a company to provide doctors and nurses to migrants, $4.6 million for “consulting services,” $1.4 million on conferences, and $700,000 on lobbyists. In 2021 alone, Endeavors spent $8 million on a hotel management company that housed migrants in their hotels. 

NGOs have long operated on the US southern border, though the uptick in taxpayer money being awarded to these NGOs is unparalleled in history. Critics of the current system believe that the federal government’s approach to the border crisis via NGOs will lead to a lack of financial accountability and incentive for the crisis to continue.