President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse Rev. Franklin Graham told Newsmax in May 2023 that despite his organization’s prominent presence in Latin American countries, “We’re not aiding illegal immigration.”
“We are feeding people down there. We’re not helping people cross the border,” Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, insisted.
While programs offering food and financial resources to the caravans snaking through Central America seem humane on the surface, they actually incentivize more migrants to pay the cartel smuggling fees so they can make the trip north. Well-intentioned Christian charities are using American taxpayer money to assist migrants on their journey through Central America, undoubtedly fueling the surge of human trafficking across borders from South America into Mexico and the U.S.
Catholic groups’ work subsidizing migrant treks to the U.S. is widely known and has even been scrutinized by members of Congress. But popular evangelical groups like Samaritan’s Purse and World Relief also use American tax dollars they receive from grants to make migrants’ travel to the deadliest land migration route easier.
Samaritan’s Purse’s mission to “Go and do likewise,” as Jesus commanded in the parable of the Good Samaritan, led to the creation of dozens of international aid programs including Operation Christmas Child and World Medical Mission. For its work, Samaritan’s Purse has received millions of American dollars from government grants, including from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Approximately $718,513 of the money Samaritan’s Purse garnered from government grants and donations
