The Associated Press reported Monday that White House grants were used to pay for cars that plainclothes NYPD officers used to conduct surveillance on Muslim neighborhoods and paid for computers that stored even innocuous information about Muslim college students, mosque sermons and social events.

"The news that the federal government is funding New York City’s program to surveil Muslims in the Northeastern United States is not particularly surprising," said Seth Freed Wessler, Colorlines.com’s investigation reporter.

"It’s been clear that the NYPD draws on federal dollars for its vast domestic anti-terrorism program. It is notable that the funds used for to map and spy on Muslims in New York and surrounding states came directly from the White House and from a drug enforcement program that lacks oversight and accountability. The federal drug war program is being used by the NYPD to expand its reach and power in Muslim communities across the region," Wessler went on to say.

The Obama administration said Monday it has no control over how the New York Police Department spends millions of dollars in White House grants.