Republican demands Biden explain if Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer is using taxpayer funds for $500 a month subsidies to house illegal migrants

A Republican lawmaker is demanding answers from the White House about a plan by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, a key ally of Joe Biden, that gives $500 a month to illegal immigrants for housing.

Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan sent a letter to Biden calling the scheme a 'slap in the face' to the state's taxpayers and a way of 'rolling out the red carpet' for illegal migrants. 

McClain requested that Biden clarify whether Whitmer's program was funded using taxpayer dollars.

She also demanded that the president answer whether the program is spending those tax dollars on individuals who have 'broken our laws and come into this country illegally.'

The 'Newcomer Rental Subsidy program' run by the Office of Global Michigan 'provides Refugees and other Newcomer population-eligible households with rental assistance up to $500 per month for up to 12 months,' according to its website.   

Eligibility is based on 'immigration status and household income.' Those who are eligible could receive up to $6,000 annually.   

The program received grant funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to McClain. 

 'The Refugee Resettlement Program will only burden the U.S. taxpayer with higher costs,' she wrote in the letter.

'Due to the Biden Border Crisis and Democrats' unwillingness to address the crisis, every state has become a border state,' McClain added in a statement provided to DailyMail.com. 

'Now, Democrats like Governor Whitmer want to take your tax dollars to address a problem that Joe Biden refuses to take action on.' 

'This program is a slap in the face to hard-working Michiganders who are struggling to pay their bills,' McClain continued.

'What sort of message is our Governor sending to the state by prioritizing migrants and illegals from the southern border over our own citizens?' 

According to the program's website, qualifying 'newcomers' must be asylum-seekers, refugees, special immigration visa recipients, victims of trafficking, Afghan nationals, Haitian and Cuban entrants or Ukrainian humanitarian parolees. 

Any migrant with a pending asylum claim is also eligible.  

McClain requested information from the White House on how much the Biden administration has spent on migrant housing since the president took office.

She also mentioned how the yearly number of border encounters has increased under Biden's purview and that the program could be seen 'as yet another incentive by your administration to roll out the red carpet and invite more people to illegally pour across our borders. 

'Your Administration is seemingly hellbent on providing taxpayer-provided benefits to those who deliberately break our laws, all the while making our communities less safe and straining our already depleted social services.'

McClain asked that Biden respond by April 19.