Murphy Statement on Baseless Republican Attacks on NGOs Providing Contracted Services

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on Thursday released a statement on the targeting of non-profit organizations by House Republicans. Earlier this week, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.-07), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.-02), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability, sentlettersto more than 200 non-governmental organizations baselessly accusing them of “incentivizing and facilitating illegal immigration” and “encouraging unprecedented levels of human trafficking and smuggling.”
“It is outrageous, but completely predictable, that House Republicans are targeting non-profit and faith-based organizations Congress contracted to support communities in border states and across our country. Instead of using their authority to bully small non-profits, these members should have read the bills they voted on, which included the authorizing and appropriating language for the very contracts and programs they are targeting in this letter. Talk to any federal law enforcement officer or local leader in a border town, and they’ll tell you these services help make our immigration and asylum system safer and more orderly, while also reducing the burden on local communities. These intimidation tactics will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on NGOs’ willingness to do business with the federal government, and I urge my colleagues to abandon this baseless attack on these organizations and work with Democrats to solve the real challenges we face,”Murphy said.