WASHINGTON (RNS) — A House hearing called to examine the Biden White House’s immigration policy and the actions of nonprofits that aid migrants — including faith-based groups — devolved into partisan chaos on Wednesday (July 17), as Democrats accused Republicans of attacking religious organizations and Republicans fractured over whether to target Catholic Charities and other faith groups.
The Homeland Security Committee hearing, titled “An Inside Job: How NGOs Facilitated the Biden Border Crisis,” is part of a broader effort targeting nonprofit groups that have long offered aid to immigrants. A small cadre of Republicans and right-wing influencers have argued for years that faith-based nonprofits that offer temporary aid to immigrants after they have been processed by Customs and Border Protection promote illegal immigration. These allegations have led to threats against staffers at Catholic Charities, a group that came up often at Wednesday’s hearing.
The claim has been widely rejected by the religious organizations, whose work is typically done under a federally funded partnership with the government.
Most recently, on June 11, Reps. Mark E. Green of Tennessee, then chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma announced plans to probe more than 200 nongovernmental organizations they accused of being “involved in providing services or support to inadmissible aliens during the Biden-Harris administration’s historic border crisis.” A press release announcing the investigation singled out the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities and the Lutheran group Global Refuge.
Several denominations and faith-based agencies say they have since received letters asking them about their actions under President Joe Biden’s adm …