Washington state diverted $340M in federal COVID funds to migrants
By
Adam Shaw, Fox News
Published Feb. 3, 2024, 9:40 p.m. ET
A new report is highlighting how federal COVID funds were used in Washington state to give $1,000 checks to illegal immigrants who were ineligible to receive federal economic impact payments during the pandemic due to their immigration status.
The report, by the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), points to money administered by the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), which was created by the American Rescue Plan Act and was intended to help state and local governments with their response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Washington state received $4.4 billion in funding overall from that program.
The report from the group, which calls for a smaller federal government, highlighted how $340 million in funding went to a program that sent $1,000 checks to illegal immigrants in the state.
The funds, approved by the Washington state legislature in April 2021, provided “another round of funding for undocumented Washingtonians,” according to an impact report on the program said.
The Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund was first set up in 2020 to grant checks to those ineligible for government assistance programs due to their immigration status.
Treasury documents confirm that the state has since provided an extra $340 million in federal relief funds for the one-time cash grants, with 10% of the funding went to community-based organizations to administer the program.
“The $340 million project is categorized as a ‘cash transfer’ expenditure under the SLFRF, approved for the State of Washington.
