TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Earlier this year, Pima County administrator Jan Lesher got a report from Catholic Community Services. The report said they were working with a vendor giving services to their Casa Alitas Drexel shelter that didn’t have a contract.
Lesher sent a memo to the Pima County Board of Supervisors saying that’s against both county and federal rules. An investigation by the New Republic uncovered the laundry service Casa Alitas hired significantly overcharged them.
Representative Juan Ciscomani said Congress and taxpayers deserve to know where this federal money is going.
Cisomani said in fiscal year 2024, so far Pima County has gotten over $21 million through FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program for the shelter.
When compared to other shelters that got the same grant, he said Casa Alitas has used up the funds a lot faster.
He notes a recent report from the New Republic said $200,000 funded through tax payers were not used correctly by the shelter.
He is also asking DHS for a written response about how much federal money was given to Pima county for Casa Alitas and the program that was in place before since 2020.
He’s also asking them to look into how the shelter gets vendors and if they followed rules for that. Plus he’s asking them to compare the cost of each migrant per day and look into whether FEMA has enough resources to make sure those federal funds are used in the right way.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
