RALEIGH — Photos and videos received by North State Journal showed dozens of what appear to be non-U.S. citizens filing onto a late evening American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Charlotte recently.
The source of the images, a North Carolina citizen who wishes to remain anonymous, told North State Journal that the group of migrants was seen at the departure gate each holding plastic bags containing belongings and a cellphone.
The source also said the group was accompanied by a person who appeared to be an interpreter and that a large number of the migrants appeared to be ill, with many of them openly “coughing and wheezing.”
The interpreter was likely in the employment of one of the many nonprofits or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that use tax dollars and tax-exempt status to relocate illegal migrants and refugees across the country. Activities by such entities could include things like buying the tickets and placing the migrants on the flight.
North State Journal reached out to American Airlines and received “no comment” as the official statement about the incident.
North State Journal made an inquiry about flights carrying migrants into Charlotte Douglas International Airport with Charlotte city leaders, including the city manager and Mayor Vi Lyles. A spokesperson for the city responded by saying in an email, “The city is aware of this but we cannot confirm the number of flights. We do not track this data.”
“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office (CMEMO) at the direction of the Mecklenburg County Manager’s Office has been tasked with leading the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Migrant Taskforce. This taskforce is made up of various nonprofits and local governmental agencies,” the spokesperson wrote. “The purpose of the taskforce is to have situational awareness of what is happening in the community, as well as help with coordination between the various organizations and agencies. The taskforce meetings allow emergency management staff to make recommendations to the policy group, which is made up of city and county leadership. To gain better situational awareness through the taskforce, CMEMO has been in constant contact with the organizations that have been assisting.”
The spokesperson went on to identify the Camino Center and the Latin American Coalition as organizations that have been assisting migrants and to contact them directly to find out the exact number of individuals that they are working with. The spokesperson added that the organizations “have not requested emergency assistance from the city.”
Per the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), passengers on commercial airline flights are required to show official government-approved identification and a boarding pass, however, it is unclear if the group that boarded the Pheonix to Charlotte flight had proper credentials or if they were sent through a modified screening process as reported by the right-leaning news outlet Breitbart Texas.
The Breitbart Texas article includes photos of special lines designated only for “non-U.S. Citizens without passports,” and reported that regular passengers were asked to leave the special security line.
Per the article, migrants headed for the line “carried manila envelopes that contained a Notice to Appear and documents showing the migrants were released from federal custody on their own recognizance.” The article goes on to say that none of the “computer-generated documents” had a photograph of the migrant in question as required by TSA regulations.
In the last month, Mark Lamb, sheriff of Pinal County in Arizona, has claimed border agents disclosed to him migrants are being given $5,000 VISA gift cards before being released to the U.S. interior.
“I was absolutely in shock when these agents came forward,” Lamb told the conservative outlet Epoch Times. “I had known we handed out free cell phones and plane tickets, but to give out $5,000 Visa gift cards to people who break our laws and come into our country illegally when the average American is struggling to pay their bills is just tough to swallow.”
Media outlets and fact-checking websites have disputed that the U.S. government is directly giving out such cards to illegal migrants, however, Lamb’s remarks pointed to NGOs as the source.
“The government can make the claim that they aren’t directly paying for it, because each dollar first goes from the government to a non-government institution like a charity before it is used to pay for the illegals,” Lamb said.
Lamb’s claims related to NGOs are similar to what was uncovered last year by FOX News reporter Bill Melugin.
Melugin asked an ICE agent if taxpayers were paying for migrant travel. The agent said they work with NGOs, which in turn try to determine a family living in the U.S. that can pay for a bus or plane ticket for a migrant, however, the agent said if that does not occur, the NGO buys the ticket and asks the government for reimbursement.
Melugin has also refuted statements by Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) denying the government is supplying free travel within the U.S. to illegal migrants.
“The U.S. government indirectly provides financial support for migrants by giving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to NGOs via FEMA’s Emergency Food & Shelter Program,” Melugin posted on X in May 2023 in response to such a post by CBP. “The NGOs then assist migrants w/ transportation around U.S & other services.”
Per data at USASpending.gov, numerous NGOs receive federal funds related to handling illegal migrants entering the U.S.
One NGO that has received millions in grants is Church World Services, which has affiliates in North Carolina. Another that has received dozens of grants is Catholic Charities.
Church World Services has chapters in multiple areas of North Carolina such as Wilmington, Charlotte, Durham, and Greensboro.
The chapters in North Carolina run an “NC-Immigrant Solidarity Fund,” it describes as a “statewide, grassroots effort to support undocumented and mixed status families facing financial hardship due to a recent ICE detention & deportation, emergency, or natural disaster.” Eligible applicants can receive a one-time cash grant to pay their bills or to “or post ICE bail bonds” for a family member.
Questions remain about how migrants, including minor children, are moving through or settling in North Carolina.
In mid-December, North State Journal attempted to tour a facility in Greensboro that was allegedly supposed to be housing unaccompanied migrant children.
The facility is the sprawling former campus of the American Hebrew Academy (AHA) situated next to a residential neighborhood.
North State Journal approached the AHA campus on Dec. 14, 2023 and encountered guards wearing a combination of military fatigues and safety vests.
Adding to questions about why AHA is turning away media access to the site is that the campus is apparently empty, according to a Dec. 8 fact sheet issued by the Administration for Children and Families in the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
“When it comes to the crisis at the southern border, the dereliction of duty on President Biden’s part is staggering,” Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) said in a statement to North State Journal. “Worse yet, the lack of transparency surrounding the downstream effects of the situation is highly troubling. The Biden administration must be held accountable and subject to congressional oversight into this matter.”
Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-08), who co-chairs the House Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Accountability, has said that his committee will be looking into the HHS contract for the AHA facility.
