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Republicans Want Answers for the $17M Spent on Unused Hotels for Illegal Immigrants
Posted On 08 May 2022
Republican members of Congress are investigating a recent inspector general report indicating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrongfully allocated $87 million in a sole-source contract to a nonprofit in Texas.
ICE collaborated with a San Antonio-based nonprofit called Endeavors to provide housing for illegal immigrants in hotels. Last year, the Epoch Times reported, ICE spent “approximately $17 million for hotel space and services at six hotels that went largely unused between April and June 2021.”
The Congressional Republicans wrote a letter, in early May, to Tae Johnson, the Acting ICE Director, asking him to provide all of the relevant documents and information surrounding the deal.
The letter said, “We write to express alarm at the potential waste of millions in taxpayer money and abuse of the contracting process by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. According to a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (OIG) report, ICE officials bypassed the ordinary competitive process to award a large, sole source $87 million contract and then wasted at least $17 million of taxpayer money because hotel rooms intended for migrant families sat empty and were mostly unused.”
It went on to call the $17 million spent “unacceptable” and lamented the potential conflict of interests that might arise through the contract.
It said, “Wasting $17 million in unused hotel rooms paid for by the taxpayers is unacceptable. Unfortunately, these problems are not surprising given the potential conflicts of interest inherent in this particular contract.”
The letter was signed by Reps. James Comer, Michael Cloud, Jody Hicc, Glenn Grothman, Ralph Norman, Nancy Mace, Jim Jordan, Virginia Foxx, Bob Gibbs, Clay Higgins, Pete Sessions, Fred Keller, Andy Biggs, Andrew Clyde, Scott Franklin, Jake LaTurner, Pat Fallon, Yvette Herrell, and Byron Donalds.
The IG report prompted the congress members to speak out and raise ethical concerns about how the decision-making process to award the multi-million-dollar contract to a sole source instead of allocating it through a “competitive procurement process.”
The report said, “Rather than using the competitive procurement process, ICE awarded a solen source contract to Endeavors, which had provided an unsolicited proposal for housing migrant families in hotels.”
The Republicans’ letter to Johnson raises concerns over this potential conflict of interest, noting that Endeavors was able to secure these funds after hiring Andrew Lorenzen-Strait a longtime political ally of the Biden administration.
The letter said, “Endeavors won this contract and even larger contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services through a no bid process after hiring Andrew Lorenzen-Strait as Senior Director for Migrant Services and Federal Affairs, a political ally of this Administration.”
Original Article: https://www.theblaze.com/news/ice-immigration-illegal-corruption
hope Room service was included in those rooms.
“are we ever screwed with this administration.
Insulting to Americans who are living on the street, and this administration is doling out taxpayer money to house invaders that broke into our couontry. They are not our guests!!!
Lousy government. Stupid leders.
WE NEED TO ROUND UP ALL ILLEGALS AND SEND THEM ALL BACK…SO TIRED OF FREELOADERS…WE HAVE PLENTY OF OUR WON THAT WE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING THEIR ENTIRE LIVES AND GENERATIONS AND GENERATIONS BEFORE…….
Who runs Endeavors? Bet it is highly Democratic
Since my words were not ocmplimentary of this administration, the comment was deleted.
dont worry about it we all feel the same way you do . we will get rid of these bastards soon
Shut the border down, impeach Biden already
where is all this money going or whose pockets are being filled? No bid process for a government contract sound like massive corruption. And who pays the bill and gets screwed!!!
More deep state–government bureaucratic corruption. Many motels and hotels paid to house Illegals didn’t even have any rooms for the public. So much greed and corruption.
Nah don’t waste my time with media bullshit
Too bad our homeless and VETS aren’t good enough for the same treatment!
The amounts of taxpayer dollars being given to illegal immigrants (not undocumented migrants), is just staggering. Free housing, medical care, education, welfare and the radical communist left want to give illegals access to our social security!
Both sides of the political isle tolerate illegals to provide cheap labor to their lobbyists. However the left side gets a second perk, which is they’re working on allowing them to vote, which keeps the communist party in power.
This latest expenditure by the radical globalist left makes it blatantly obvious they do not put Americans first, nor do they care about the American people.
Moreover, if the Republican Party doesn’t get a handle on voter fraud, the democrats will steal another election.
Sleepy joe taking care of himself family and friends on our nickle
DEMONCRAPS WASTE OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY ON ILLEGALS, etc.
Easy to cure!! Identify the countries allowing
their citizens to emmigrate to the USA and send
them a bill for all of our costs. If they refuse to pay place sanctions on them for all the assistance that is given to those countries.
Send the bill to JOey as he was the one who made the reservations. He should pay out of his own pocket and not from Government.
Very witty you all, but realized what a lack of respect and appreciation for working America in times of so much trouble and uncertainty, between illegals and Ukraine there go out billions of dollars. My question, isn’t Congress in charge of allowing the money to these expenders?
So why doesn’t anyone care about this issue to make a sign and protest? Hmmm abortion is way more important I guess. Impeach the asshole please!!!!!