Keystone Today

Critics of the Biden Administration's immigration policies and longtime residents of Charleroi are questioning who is behind the influx of nearly 2,500 Haitian immigrants into the small community and how they might be benefiting from it.  

The federal government, through the CHNV Humanitarian Parole program, has allowed for more than 200,000 Haitians to resettle in Charleroi, which has a total population of just 4,210 people, according to the latest census data.   

Questions are being raised about the involvement of and profiting by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which assist immigrants with housing, work, and enrollment in programs like Medicaid—including how much these organizations are profiting from their work. With more than 340 local offices nationwide and more than $5.5 billion in money having been awarded since 2021, NGOs—because of their non-governmental status—aren’t required to disclose detailed information about their operations.

In Charleroi, one of the most active NGOs is Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) Pittsburgh. The JCFS website offers help migrants in signing up migrants for benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, limited financial assistance, work authorization and legal assistance. 

In 2023, JCFS reported receiving $12.5 million in revenue with $6.15 million coming from government grants. The organization also receives federal month from other non-profits including a $2.8 million grant from its parent company Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House of Representatives over the Biden administration’s failure to secure the nation’s borders, sat on the HIAS board up until 2020.

In response to Mayorkas' impeachment, HIAS released a statement expressing profound disappointment over what it called a "misguided and dangerous distraction." 

America 2100 which bills itself as a non-profit, non-partisan pro-American policy advocacy group, made a video in April about Mayorkas and his links to HIAS, which said that Mayorkas "is fully in bed with the open borders lobby."

According to a Tweet by America 2100, HIAS has skyrocketed under the Biden administration with nearly half of HIAS's $162 million operating budget in 2022 coming from government grants.

While business is booming for the NGOs that are actively bringing migrants to this community, residents have mixed feelings about how the surge in populations is affecting them.

Mass immigration's impact on Charleroi caught the attention of documentary makers from America 2100 who traveled to the borough to find out what was going on. 

“I don’t blame them for coming here, I blame the people who did it. That’s who really needs to be held accountable,” Charleroi resident and delivery driver Andy Armbruster said in the Erasing Charleroi documentary which was released Oct 10.

Armbruster and other community members say that they're being left out of decisions in their community, compromising their quality of life. 

Nate Hochman who helped produce the documentary describes the frustration townspeople are expressing over lack of accountability.

“The people in Charleroi didn’t vote for this. No one even asked them. But it’s happening anyways,” Hochman said.

Hochman said that the documentary crew encountered numerous longtime residents who were willing to discuss the issue, however, they were unable to find Haitian immigrants who were willing to speak to them.

Keystone Today reached out to Sen. Judy Ward (R-District 30) and Rep. Jim Gregory (R-80th District) for comment on the influx of Haitian migrants to Charleroi and the involvement of NGOs like HIAS and JFCS in bringing them to the community but both declined to comment. 

The topic of Haitian immigration to the U.S. has become a recurring topic in the final weeks of the presidential race, with former President Trump holding a recent rally in Springfield, Ohio—another Rust Belt town grappling with a surge of Haitian immigrants to the tune of 15,000-20,000 people. 

Though billed as a “lawful pathway” for entry into the U.S., vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance has described the CHNV program and temporary protected status as “an abuse of asylum laws.”