EXCLUSIVE — A George Soros-backed immigration charity that pushes for open borders is being accused by a conservative watchdog in an IRS complaint of unlawfully failing to disclose how it lobbied Congress.
Alianza Americas may have violated federal law in recent years by claiming on tax forms it had not lobbied despite engaging in activities that seemingly constitute formal advocacy, attorneys specializing in charity law say. Now the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog, is calling on the IRS to “conduct a full investigation and audit” into the Chicago group’s apparent 2021 lobbying, as well as impose fines and revoke its tax-exempt status, according to a Monday complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner.
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“Alianza Americas appears to be a serial IRS violator by failing to disclose its lobbying activities for the last three years,” Paul Kamenar, the watchdog’s counsel who filed the complaint, said in a statement. “I won’t be surprised if they continue to flaunt the law in their 2022 IRS report later this year.”
The complaint comes on the heels of lawyers claiming to the Washington Examiner in mid-June that Alianza, which received over $1.6 million from the Soros-funded Open Society Foundations grantmaking network between 2016 and 2021, seemingly skirted federal rules by declaring it did not lobby on 2021 financial disclosures that were filed in November 2022.
This is because Alianza joined other left-leaning groups, including the Center for American Progress think tank, to meet with Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in January 2021 to discuss Temporary Protected Status. The policy, also known as TPS, lets immigrants remain in the United States if their native country is dealing with extraordinary conditions, including armed conflict, according to a social media post and multiple reports.
“Congressman @RepDarrenSoto and Senator @timkaine met with part of the #AlianzaAmericas team and others in an effort to expand #TPS for countries devastated by #HurricaneIota and #HurricaneEta,” Alianza tweeted on Jan. 28, 2021. “Read up at @ALDIANews ➡️ http://bit.ly/2NC5eV4 #PermanentProtection #ResidencyNow.”
Alianza, which came under the national spotlight in September 2022 for suing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over him flying illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, also said on 2021 disclosures it had not made “significant changes” from prior years in terms of how it “conducts any program services.” The allegation is further evidence that the entity has been failing to report its lobbying, according to Kamenar.
A group is lobbying if it “contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation” or advocates the “adoption or rejection of legislation,” according to the IRS.
“It seems abundantly clear that Alianza Americas has violated the IRS laws and regulations for failing to report that it engages in lobbying activities as defined by the IRS and failing to file the required Schedule C listing the expenditures for such activities,” NLPC wrote in its Monday complaint. The group made a similar demand for a federal investigation in October 2022 over Alianza allegedly not reporting possible 2019 and 2020 lobbying.
Alianza said on 2019 and 2020 disclosures that it partnered with other groups to “engage” holders of TPS, whom it brought “to policymakers in Congress,” records show. Alianza also held “two congressional briefings” in Washington, D.C., on TPS and visited Congress over 200 times from June 2017 to September 2019, according to tax forms.
These tax form admissions spurred Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), as well as Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, to demand an investigation in October 2022 since Alianza pocketed $8.5 million in grants in 2021 from the Department of Health and Human Services. It is prohibited under federal law to use grants “directly or indirectly” to “pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device” or influence the government to take a position on policy or law.
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Alianza Americas and the IRS did not reply to requests for comment.
The IRS is barred from disclosing whether it has launched an investigation into a given group after a referral is made, according to federal law. The agency sends referrals to classification office analysts, who then decide if they will close them or open examination files.
