A Republican-led House Homeland Security hearing on 16 July examined how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) financed with federal funds may have accelerated the 2021-24 US border surge. Committee Chairman Mark Green opened the session—titled “An Inside Job: How NGOs Facilitated the Biden Border Crisis”—saying the panel is investigating whether groups that received Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services contracts helped move migrants from the border into the country and profited in the process. Witnesses Julio Rosas of Blaze Media, Oversight Project president Mike Howell and Guard Against Trafficking co-founder Ali Hopper told lawmakers that some NGOs acted as the “final link” in human-smuggling networks. Hopper testified that 65,000 calls to an HHS hotline from unaccompanied children went unanswered and recounted interviews indicating that many minors were exposed to forced labour or sexual exploitation after release to sponsors. Howell said three of the largest service providers saw their combined revenue jump to roughly $3 billion in 2022 from $597 million three years earlier, while Southwest Key Programs and Endeavors each secured federal contracts exceeding $2 billion. Committee Republicans cited internal estimates that more than 13 million people crossed the border during the Biden-Harris years and claimed the government subsequently lost contact with over 300,000 children. Democratic members challenged the characterisation of the organisations’ work and sought to strike portions of Howell’s testimony, but the majority voted to allow it. The panel signalled it will press for detailed accounting records from more than 200 NGOs as it weighs legislative steps to tighten oversight of taxpayer-funded migrant services.