Taxpayer dollars earmarked for COVID relief went to services for illegal migrants in Dem-run city: Report

Madison, Wisconsin, used taxpayer dollars earmarked for the city's emergency COVID-19 relief response to fund services for illegal migrants, according to a recent probe conducted by the Institute for Reforming Government's Center for Investigative Oversight.

The IRG's report, released Thursday, revealed that the city approved "a $700,000 budget for 'Services to Residents who are Undocumented,'" read a letter from state Sen. Duey Stroebel (R) to the city.

The funds were a part of the city's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, which received funds from the federal government's American Rescue Plan Act to aid with the public health emergency. The taxpayer money was "intended to help residents recover from the pandemic," the IRG noted. Instead, 10% of the SLFRF funds went to organizations providing services to illegal migrants, the investigation revealed.

The city reportedly approved the funds in the fourth quarter of 2023.

"This earmark for illegal immigrants is alarming since you point out these individuals would normally be 'ineligible' for 'direct assistance' in many cases," Stroebel's letter to the city continued.

The state senator requested additional information regarding the redirected COVID relief funds, including a list of grant applications received by the city, a list of grant applications that were denied, and "a breakdown of what the $700,000 of grants were used for (i.e. direct cash assistance, gas cards, utility assistance, legal representation, etc.)."

Stroebel requested a time estimate regarding his open-records request.

In a Thursday post on X, Stroebel noted that according to Madison's fourth-quarter report, the "pandemic funding could be used to pay for utility bills, gas cards, and more."

"It's insane that, at a time when Wisconsinites are struggling to keep up with inflation, that taxpayer dollars are being used to help illegal immigrants pay their bills," he added.

"Hardworking Wisconsin taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent," the IRG stated. "They especially deserve to know how sending tax dollars to provide services to illegal immigrants in 2024 was 'necessary' in response to and recovery from the 'COVID-19 public health emergency' of 2020. It is unclear how grants to local nonprofits for 'Services to Residents who are Undocumented' nearly five years following the pandemic meets the intent of the program."

United States Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) called the investigation's discovery "another example of the Biden admin and Democrats WASTING and ABUSING your tax dollars."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!