EXCLUSIVE — A left-wing immigration charity funded by George Soros that supports open borders may have violated federal law again over its failure to disclose apparent lobbying, experts say.

Alianza Americas faced an IRS complaint last October from the conservative watchdog National Legal and Policy Center over the Chicago nonprofit group alleging it did not engage in lobbying in 2019 and 2020 despite listing activities seemingly constituting formal advocacy. However, it appears Alianza also skirted IRS rules in 2021 by declaring on its financial disclosures that it didn't lobby, attorneys specializing in charity law told the Washington Examiner.

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"We're prepared to amend our original complaint that we filed with the IRS on Alianza failing to disclose lobbying activities on their prior reports and note they did not do so on their 2021 report," Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, told the Washington Examiner. "They should have already done that and submitted the information in Schedule C."

The revelation of Alianza's possible 2021 lobbying disclosure lapse comes months after a series of Washington Examiner reports on the charity's advocacy efforts in recent years for reduced immigration regulations. Alianza, which was granted over $1.7 million between 2016 and 2021 from the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations grantmaking network, came under the spotlight in September 2022 for filing a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over him flying illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Alongside other liberal groups, including the Center for American Progress think tank, Alianza met with Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in January 2021 to discuss the expansion of Temporary Protected Status, a policy letting immigrants stay in the United States if their home country is dealing with extraordinary conditions, including armed conflict, according to a Twitter post and multiple reports.

The meeting came after Alianza disclosed on 2019 and 2020 tax forms visiting Congress 200 times and bringing TPS holders "to policymakers in Congress" while also holding "two congressional briefings" in Washington, D.C., on immigration-related matters such as TPS. Regardless of the January 2021 event, Alianza checked "no" to the question on 2021 financial disclosures as to whether it engaged "in lobbying activities," documents show.

Alianza also noted on its 2021 tax forms it had not made "significant changes" in terms of how it "conducts any program services," which Kamenar said adds further evidence that the nonprofit group continued to lobby without reporting its activities. An organization is defined as lobbying by the IRS 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."

"It is important for donors to understand how their money is being spent and for the IRS to ensure tax-exempt 501(c)(3)'s are complying with the requirements," Gary Lawkowski, counsel to Dhillon Law Group, told the Washington Examiner.

Lawkowski added that it seems as if Alianza is "trying very hard to kind of play with the definition of lobbying."

In the past, tax experts indicated they would expect Alianza to check "yes" to lobbying on disclosures for 2021 and 2022 — which are not yet public. Alianza posted an image on Twitter in September 2022 of a meeting it held with Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) "to remind her that we must #DefundHate," referring to stripping resources from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Alianza also met with "representatives" in September 2022 from Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-IL) office "to share about the urgency of defunding #ICE and #CBP," according to a tweet.

"If at the meetings [Alianza] advocated for the expansion of these programs, then that should have been reported," Alan Dye, a partner at Webster, Chamberlain, and Bean who has specialized in nonprofit law since 1975, told the Washington Examiner. "If, on the other hand, they were merely disseminating information that was derived from their research, then it might not be reportable."

Alianza's possible lobbying has raised concerns in the past among Republicans, including Texas state House member Brian Harrison, as well as federal lawmakers such as Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX). The Lone Star State cohort called on the Department of Health and Human Services in October 2022 to investigate whether Alianza may have illegally used federal funds for apparent lobbying — since the charity has received at least $8.5 million in HHS grants.

Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, an ethics group that rates nonprofit groups on their transparency levels, told the Washington Examiner there can be major "financial consequences" for charities that don't follow IRS lobbying regulations.

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"If a charity is engaging in lobbying activities but claims in its tax filing that it isn't, this is a problem," Styron said. "It creates an information gap. The public has a right to know what they are subsidizing and to understand if a charity has violated the rules."

Alianza Americas did not return a request for comment, nor did spokespeople for Durbin and Soto.