Tucson Samaritans volunteers were caught on camera opening a hole in a border fence and waving migrants through, according to a congressman who is now demanding an investigation into NGOs helping migrants enter the United States illegally.
Rep. Tom Tiffany said the organization, along with the Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans, is “aiding illegal immigration” by assisting the multitudes of foreigners arriving in the United States daily.
The video shows a volunteer holding open a gap in the fence at the US-Mexico border in Arizona as a steady stream of migrants passes through.
The man appears to be filming five asylum seekers passing one after another.
The footage then shows them being loaded into cars with bags and taken away.
Tucson Samaritans and Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans have been accused of aiding illegal immigration after a video surfaced showing who is said to be one of their volunteers holding open a barrier at the border fence to allow migrants to pass. immigrants.
The images were captured at the United States border with Mexico in Arizona, the site of thousands of illegal crossings.
Republican Tom Tiffany accused the NGOs of violating Title 8, USC 1324(a), which makes it a crime for anyone to encourage or bring an alien into the US.
Republicans are demanding responses from NGOs they say are aiding and abetting the crisis.
Rep. Tiffany said the migrants were transported to a camp in the Coronado National Forest.
“Title 8, USC 1324(a) criminalizes any person who encourages or brings an alien into the United States,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Congress must take action and investigate these NGOs.”
Tiffany is now demanding a Justice Department investigation after visiting one of the migrant camps.
“These NGOs are actively facilitating illegal immigration without worrying that the Biden administration will crack down on them,” he told DailyMail.com.
‘They are breaking the law and many are receiving tax money to carry out Biden’s border invasion. Congress must investigate these organizations.”
He also shared photos posted by Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans that he said showed them “bragging” about the tent camps.
When contacted by DailyMail.com, the NGOs insisted they were being “misrepresented”.
‘The post by Representative Tom Tiffany, a representative from Wisconsin, is a misrepresentation of events.
‘As an organization that has existed for more than 20 years, we work to alleviate suffering and prevent deaths along the US-Mexico border.
‘The situation of asylum seekers offers challenges for everyone to respond in a humane and legal way.
‘This is what we do.’
The groups say their actions are “distorted.” They say their goal is to ‘alleviate the suffering’ of those who cross the border illegally.
Tiffany is now pushing for the Justice Department to investigate the role of NGOs in the crossings, which reached up to 1,000 a day.
Tiffany said the migrants were transported to a camp in the Coronado National Forest.
The nonprofit states that its mission is “to provide humanitarian assistance to immigrants in the border areas between Arizona and Sonora” and then states that “humanitarian assistance is never a crime.”
Meanwhile, Tucson Samaritans says it provides “water, food, first aid and other essential items to migrants crossing the border in southern Arizona.”
The organization spent $13,804 on supplies in 2023, according to its website.
Up to 1,000 people cross the border into Arizona each day, and more than 250,000 encounters with migrants have been reported in Tucson during the last fiscal year to date.
More broadly, border patrol encountered a record 250,000 migrants crossing into the United States through Mexico in December.
Video taken in San Diego on Friday showed a mass street release of migrants into Border Patrol custody after a local reception center ran out of money earlier than expected.
Among those released were people from Peru, Colombia and India who were hoping to travel to Atlanta and Minneapolis to work, according to Fox journalist Bill Melugin.
The immigrants were released with notices to appear in immigration court.
In recent months, Republicans have been calling for an investigation into the role of NGOs in assisting migrants at the border.
Tiffany was among a group of Republican representatives who wrote to Catholic Charities USA, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and Jewish Family Service of San Diego to express their concerns.
‘While Americans suffer the consequences of unprecedented chaos at the border, NGOs continue to profit from the exploitation of our immigration laws.
Congressman Tiffany previously wrote to NGOs informing them of his intention to investigate the help they provide to asylum seekers.
The NGOs state on their websites that they provide humanitarian aid to those who have made the dangerous journey through the desert.
It comes the same day hundreds of migrants were abandoned on the streets of San Diego after being released from Border Patrol custody.
A migrant from Ecuador shaves as he arrives at a bus stop after leaving a processing facility Friday in San Diego.
The immigrants were left with notices to appear in immigration court after local government funds for a reception center ran out sooner than expected.
‘Taxpayers should not subsidize any organization that facilitates the movement of illegal immigrants across our border.
“When NGOs transport unauthorized aliens into the country, it becomes increasingly difficult for federal immigration agencies to monitor their whereabouts and protect our communities,” the letter states.
The letter confirmed that the chamber would “continue to investigate your organization’s role in facilitating the border crisis, its potential violations of federal law, and its misuse of taxpayer funds.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is considering an immigration crackdown that would close the border if more than 8,500 people try to cross in a day, a law used repeatedly by former President Donald Trump.
The law, if the migrant crisis reached those numbers per day, would unilaterally enact a blanket ban at the southern border, according to three people familiar with the deliberations.
Tucson Samaritans said in a statement: ‘The post by Representative Tom Tiffany, a representative from Wisconsin, is a misrepresentation of events.
‘As an organization that has existed for more than 20 years, we work to alleviate suffering and prevent deaths along the US-Mexico border.
‘The situation of asylum seekers offers challenges for everyone to respond in a humane and legal way. This is what we do.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans for comment.