‘It is the policy of my Administration to stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest,’ Trump’s memo reads.
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Feb. 6 ordering a review of all funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive money from federal agencies.
The executive
memo, “Advancing United States Interests When Funding,” directs all heads of federal departments to review all funding provided to NGOs. It accuses “many” NGOs, without giving specific examples, of engaging in “actions that actively undermine the security, prosperity, and safety of the American people.”
“It is the policy of my Administration to stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest,” Trump’s memo reads.
Further, the memo directs agency heads to align all future funding decisions with U.S. interests and the Trump administration’s goals and priorities, particularly alongside existing and future executive actions.
On Jan. 29, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
said the Trump administration would cancel funding to any NGOs that “facilitate illegal immigration.”
“Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border,” Noem
said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Will Cain Show.”
NGOs are “typically mission-driven advocacy or service organizations in the nonprofit sector,” with large and small NGOs operating around the world for various charitable purposes,
according to Harvard Law School.
Two notable international NGOs that have existed for more than a century are the International Committee of the Red Cross and Anti-Slavery International. Some NGOs, Harvard notes, helped defeat apartheid in South Africa and overthrow communist regimes in Central Europe.
Roughly 1.5 million NGOs operate in the United States,
according to the State Department, and their work includes “political advocacy on issues such as foreign policy, elections, the environment, healthcare, women’s rights, economic development, and many other issues.” Other NGOs operate outside of politics, including ones “rooted in shared religious faith” and others that help the poor and disabled, the department said.
NGO funding includes donations from federal, state, local, and foreign governments; private individuals; private sector companies; and philanthropic foundations.
“There is no prohibition in U.S. law on foreign funding of NGOs; whether that foreign funding comes from governments or non-government sources,” the State Department states.
Many NGOs also qualify for exemptions from state and federal taxes but must first apply for this status with the IRS. However, political NGOs “receive limited tax exemptions only for income received from contributions solicited from the general public, membership dues, or fundraising events,” according to the State Department.
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
