American Red Cross Becomes Target of Republican Fury

The American Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come under fire from some Republicans who allege they are helping migrants cross the southern border into the U.S.

Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, wrote on social media that NGOs "are FACILITATING illegal immigration to the U.S., like the International Committee Red Cross, providing maps and information about traveling to the southern border."

In another post on X, formerly Twitter, Roy said the International Committee of the Red Cross was "not even hiding it—its website has U.S.-bound migration maps for 2023 in DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!"

It comes as a large spike in migrants crossing into the U.S. at the southern border has increased frustration with President Joe Biden's immigration policies, and Republicans are seeking to make border security a major issue in the 2024 election.

Others echoed Roy's sentiment, with one supporter of former President Donald Trump writing on the platform that that the Red Cross was to blame for "the invasion assistance at the southern border."

Another wrote that the Red Cross and other NGOs "have been publishing maps/info on how to get from South America to our southern border. Stop giving money to these organizations now. Cut off all funding @WhiteHouse."

Newsweek has contacted the American Red Cross and Roy's office for comment via email.

Roy also called for the passage of the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz in September. The bill, which passed the House, would "defund NGOs receiving tax dollars to help traffic illegal aliens throughout the heartland," according to a press release from Cruz's office.

Biden is facing growing pressure both from Republicans and Democrats to curb the massive number of migrants crossing into the U.S.

"We've got to do something," Biden told reporters on Tuesday night. "They ought to give me the money I need to protect the border."

After Speaker Mike Johnson and dozens of House Republicans gathered at the border to decry Biden and his immigration policies last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called it the latest in a series of "political stunts."

Republicans have "blocked any efforts for the president to deal with the border," she said. "That's what we've seen. That is what we've seen from the speaker."

Biden on Friday said congressional Republicans "rejected my recent request for an additional $3.5 billion to secure the border and funds for 2,000 new asylum personnel and 100 new immigration judges so people don't have to wait years to get their claims adjudicated, which they have a right to make a claim legally."

The "failure to pass and fund this comprehensive plan has increased challenges that we're seeing at our southwest border," he said.

The issue could remain a thorn in Biden's side as he campaigns for reelection in 2024.

The president "is staggeringly vulnerable on the immigration question" ahead of the election, Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, previously told Newsweek.

"While the causes of the current dysfunction aren't entirely his fault, and politics on both sides of the aisle make 'comprehensive' reform next to impossible, the sitting president is always going to take the blame for a surge in undocumented immigration," Gift said.

"With increasing numbers of center-left governors and mayors, even outside border states, expressing dissatisfaction over the White House's handling of immigration, the issue could prove even more of a liability for Biden heading into 2024."