Where Do the Billions in Migrant Funds Go

During the Biden administration, the U.S. government was handing out over $2 billion a year related to the migrant crisis at the border despite the addition of the border wall, mainly through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Of that, $1.4 billion was related to the issue of unaccompanied minors. Then there was another $13 to $25 billion a year in contracts for companies providing things like transportation services.

For all that was being spent, there’s no real indication that the U.S. was being flooded with migrants. The number of refugee arrivals collapsed back in 2018 to a quarter of what it was two years prior. The number of attempted migrants that were found and expelled quadrupled following the pandemic according to the Office of Homeland Statistics’ Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. So what are the nonprofits doing with the billions in government grants they receive towards the migrant crisis?

For the nonprofit Family Endeavors, now known solely as Endeavors, they took in $1.2 billion in government grants in 2022 based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings. Of that, $180 million was spent on salaries, another $85 million on occupancy (e.g. office space rental), and $577 million on contract services. But only about $12 million of that contract spending is detailed in their IRS filings. That leaves $564 million in unspecified contracting.

Ostensibly the group is dedicated to migrant wellness services—home studies, housing, and therapy for unaccompanied minors. The $12 million in contract services that are detailed does show such activity—spending on healthcare and ambulances—but there is little detail about where the rest of it goes.

Another $211 million was spent on sub-grants, with the bulk of that ($188 million) going to the organization’s foundation—the Family Endeavors Foundation—ostensibly to be spent on other grantees to be named later.

In 2023, Endeavors gave $33.5 million to another nonprofit, Reach Resilience, but that secondary nonprofit doesn’t do much of anything. Of that $33.5 million given to Reach by Endeavors, only $8.8 million was spent. The year before, they took in $187.5 million in revenue, but spent only $748,365, while sitting on $355 million in assets, most of which were investments.