Rep. Juan Ciscomani sent a letter Tuesday, Aug. 20, requesting that the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security investigate the use of federal funds by Catholic Community Services' Casa Alitas in Tucson.
Casa Alitas is a humanitarian aid project that shelters and assists migrant families after they are released from ICE and Border Patrol detention.
It disclosed in May that one of the vendors providing services to the Casa Alitas' Drexel shelter was working without a contract and that there was a familial conflict of interest.
That violated County and federal procurement rules for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Shelter Services Program (SSP) grant, County Administrator Jan Lesher said in a memo at the time to the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
CCS Chief Executive Officer Elena Dwyre issued a statement mentioned in the memo that said the organization also had been overcharged for services by the contractor.
CCS took action against the employees involved in hiring the vendor and alerted the County about the lack of required procurement procedures and contracting, the memo said.
Ciscomani said in his letter that Pima County has received $21,827,581 through the Shelter Services Program so far in 2024, and that, to his understanding, the funds go primarily to Casa Alitas migrant operations.
He said the misuse of taxpayer dollars, which was brought to light in a recent New Republic article, "indicate corruption, conflicts of interest and the misuse of at least $200,000 in taxpayer dollars."
"Congress and the American people deserve to know where our federal dollars are going," Ciscomani said in the letter. "And individuals and entities who have taken advantage of these programs should be held accountable."
Ciscomani requested that the Office of the Inspector General review the federal dollars provided to Pima County through the grant, particularly the amount provided to Catholic Community Services' Casa Alitas.
In addition, he requested a review of procurement processes documented by Casa Alitas; A review and comparison of the cost per migrant, per day, of all funds awarded under the grant to date; a determination as to if Casa Alitas complies with all rules and regulations under their SSP award; and a review of whether or not FEMA has adequate oversight controls in place to ensure SSP funds are not misused.
