The Biden administration forgave thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief loans handed to a George Soros-backed charity that may have illegally failed to disclose its lobbying activities, records show.
In May 2020, Alianza Americas was approved through the Paycheck Protection Program for an almost $125,000 loan, which was forgiven in April 2021, according to public records. That same pro-immigration nonprofit group, however, may have violated federal law by failing to disclose its lobbying activities in 2019 and 2020, the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog, alleged in an October IRS complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The program was authorized in May 2020 by President Donald Trump through his signing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill intended to provide emergency aid to businesses, families, and people affected by COVID-19. The program, which was implemented by the Small Business Administration, included $953 billion in aid for businesses, nonprofit groups, and other entities.
SOROS-BACKED CHARITY THAT MAY HAVE ‘VIOLATED’ FEDERAL LAW STILL APPEARS TO BE LOBBYING, EXPERTS SAY
Groups such as Alianza were approved for PPP loans so they could engage in general upkeep and continue paying staff amid the economic fallout accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has been ripe for fraud, and billions of dollars have been funneled to groups and people who did not legally qualify for aid.
It is unclear where exactly Alianza steered the money it received, and the group did not respond to several Washington Examiner requests for comment.
Alianza made national headlines in September when it sued Gov. Ron DeSantis over him flying illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Between 2016 and 2020, the nonprofit group received over $1.4 million from Soros’s Open Society Foundations network, records show.
On its 2019 and 2020 tax forms, Alianza claimed it didn’t engage in lobbying. Still, the group discloses in other places in these forms that, between 2017 and 2019, it made over 200 “visits to Congress” to advocate certain immigration policies and also held “two congressional briefings.”
Alianza has also seemingly lobbied in 2021 and 2022, charity experts told the Washington Examiner on Nov. 22. For instance, the charity said it met with congressional offices in September 2022 as part of the National Day of Advocacy to Defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
“Public charities are not supposed to be engaging in substantial lobbying activities, and they risk their tax-exempt status when they don’t follow the rules,” Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, previously told the Washington Examiner.
The $125,000 that Alianza received from the SBA is only a fraction of the taxpayer dollars it has raked in.
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded Alianza $8.5 million in 2021 for COVID-19 vaccination outreach. Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), as well as former HHS chief of staff Brian Harrison, later demanded the HHS inspector general “audit” the grants to ensure they were not illegally used for lobbying, the Washington Examiner first reported.
“It was a mistake for the federal government to fund Alianza Americas in the past, and it is unacceptable for the Biden administration to continue to do so — especially now that we know Alianza Americas is likely using these federal grants to bankroll their lobbying activities,” Roy told the Washington Examiner.
“American taxpayers deserve better,” Roy added.
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In addition, Alianza was awarded almost $158,000 in government contracts that were disbursed between 2009 and 2016, records show. The money came from the HHS and was for focus groups and surveys.
The SBA declined a Washington Examiner request for comment.
