Federally Funded Rescue Organization Seeks Mother’s Day Gifts for Migrants on U.S. Border

The International Rescue Committee, which receives millions of dollars through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, is soliciting money to pay for gifts for migrants on the U.S. border with Mexico.

“When families flee their homes, they often leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” the committee’s website states. “At the U.S.-Mexico border and in crisis areas around the world, we provide families with emergency support and the basic necessities they need to survive and recover.” 

“Emergency kits can include food, water, diapers, hygiene items, clothing, and other critical supplies. $60 can provide refugee and asylum-seeking parents with immediate and critical supplies to help them care for their families,” the website states.

The website also states that Airbnb is involved in its efforts and will match gifts up to $500,000 until midnight on Mother’s Day.

Despite its federal funding, the non-profit organization is highly critical of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

“As the White House continues to pursue its policy to close the U.S. southern border and push asylum-seeking families into Mexico, the IRC is urging the Administration to uphold asylum protections for desperate asylum-seeking families,” the website states. “The IRC also is calling on the Administration to support Central American countries in their efforts to reduce the violence that is driving people from their homes.”

In April the Guardian published an interview with the committee CEO David Miliband, who claims Trump is “manufacturing a crisis at the US-Mexico border to justify his hardline immigration plans.”

“The US government is failing in its most basic responsibilities, never mind as a global leader but as a local example of how a civilized country should behave,” Miliband, who is British, said in the interview.

The committee issued a report on the border crisis, blaming Trump for the surge in illegal immigration and failure to help Central American countries. However, as Breitbart News reported, the United States under Trump pledged $10 billion in economic aid to Southern Mexico and Central America.

The article reports that the committee has set up shop at bus stations in Arizona to connect with migrants entering the U.S. 

Follow Penny Starr on Twitter.