Exclusive — Rep. Lance Gooden Demands Answers on Refugee Travel Loans that Boost Mass Migration

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) sent a letter to the United Nations, demanding information about refugee travel loans, which he says boosts mass migration.

“The Refugee Travel Loan program is ripe for abuse, and the organizations in charge of collecting these loans have made millions encouraging mass migration to the United States. The Biden Administration and United Nations must come clean with the American people,” Gooden told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement. “Taxpayer dollars should not be funneled through international organizations to incentivize mass migration to our country.”

Gooden sent a letter to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the representative for the U.S. to the United Nations (U.N.), regarding the State Department’s “Refugee Travel Loans” issued by the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) to the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

The Texas conservative expressed grave concern about the IOM’s ability to recover the transportation loans. Gooden explained:

There is a serious lack of transparency surrounding the loan program, and as the ambassador to the United Nations, we ask that you ensure there are existing safeguards and policies to protect taxpayer funds. It has been reported from 1952 to 2002 the IOM issued $1,020,803,910 in “transportation” loans and recovered only $584,219,453. To maintain proper oversight, we request you provide details to the following questions with as much detail as possible. We also request you notify the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) and any partner resettlement agencies to retain all records reflecting the amount of Refugee Travel Loans furnished and repaid to the U.S. Government. 

Gooden demanded that the U.N. preserve all documents relating to the Refugee Travel Loans furnished by the State Department:

• All records reflecting the number of Refugee Travel Loans furnished by the State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) per year; the number of travel loans that are defaulted upon per year; and the amount of money written off per defaulted loan.
• All records reflecting the number of Refugee Travel Loans furnished using USG funds per year; the number of such travel loans that are defaulted upon per year; and the amount of money written off per defaulted loan.
• All records reflecting the amount of Refugee Travel Loans repaid to the federal government by resettlement agencies responsible for collecting the loans. 
• Please provide a copy of the promissory note refugees sign if they decide to receive a Refugee Travel Loan.

He also requested information relating to refugee and loan collection agencies including the Church World Service, Immigration & Refugee Program (CWS), Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society, Episcopal Migration Ministries (DFMS), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), International Rescue Committee (IRC), US Refugee Travel Loan Program, US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (IRSA), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB), World Relief Refugee Services (WRRS).

Many of these refugee loan collection agencies are allowed to keep 25 percent of the total payments, which creates a perverse incentive to encourage more refugee migration because the agencies have a vested financial interest.

The New York Times noted that in 2017 refugees made $66 million in loan payments.

Gooden previously led a letter with 12 of his colleagues demanding that the State Department clarify many of the issues surrounding these refugee loans. Given that the State Department did not respond to 12 Republicans, Gooden turned to the U.N. for information.

He said in his previous letter that these left-wing non-governmental organizations were getting rich off of refugee resettlement.

As Breitbart News’s John Binder, noted:

… the federal government funnels millions in taxpayer money to nine refugee contractors who resettle most of the nation’s booming refugee population. The contractors routinely lobby lawmakers to increase the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. as their annual budgets rely on a steady flow of hundreds of thousands of refugees.

President Joe Biden’s most recent refugee operation plans to bring at least 95,000 Afghan refugees to the United States.

If the U.N. and State Department will not respond regarding these loans, both letters demand that these agencies preserve their documents so that a future Republican majority can subpoena these organizations for future oversight.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.