Unlike the story that djt and repubs are spewing that
it is all the dems fault:
"VERIFY continues to fact-check claims about disaster
funding amid a deadly hurricane season that is
battering the southeastern U.S.
We recently debunked claims that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is running out of disaster
money to help hurricane survivors because it spent the
money to house undocumented migrants.
Those claims prompted other social media posts about
the use of FEMA funds while former President Donald
Trump was in office. The viral posts claim the Trump
administration diverted millions of dollars in FEMA
disaster relief funds to U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) for immigration enforcement efforts.
Several VERIFY readers emailed and texted us to ask if
these claims are true.
THE QUESTION
Did the Trump administration divert FEMA disaster
relief funds to ICE?
THE ANSWER
Yes, the Trump administration diverted FEMA disaster
relief funds to ICE.
Former President Trump’s administration did redirect
millions of dollars from FEMA’s disaster relief fund to
ICE in 2019. That money was put toward the creation of
temporary immigration hearing facilities along the
Southwest border.
Though the move prompted criticism from Democrats in
Congress and organizations representing emergency
planners, these types of money transfers between
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies aren’t
exclusive to the Trump administration. Both FEMA and
ICE are under DHS.
“It’s common for funds to be shifted around within DHS
pots of money, in what’s officially known as transfers
and reprogramming of funds,” Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh,
an associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy
Institute's U.S. Immigration Policy Program, told
VERIFY.
These types of transfers also happened during former
President Barack Obama’s administration, according to a
May 2024 Government Accountability Office report. From
fiscal years 2014 through 2023, DHS notified Congress
that it planned to move a total of $1.8 billion in
funding around to help ICE, the report says. DHS said
it would move this funding to ICE from other agencies
as well as within ICE itself.
Here’s a breakdown of the Trump administration’s
actions to transfer money from FEMA to ICE.
$155M diverted from FEMA disaster fund to ICE in 2019
DHS notified Congress in July 2019 about its plan to
transfer $271 million from various agencies within the
department, including $155 million from FEMA’s Disaster
Relief Fund, to ICE, a “Transfer and Reprogramming”
notice obtained by NBC News shows. Another $3.4 million
came from FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation funds,
according to the DHS notice.
The department publicly confirmed the transfer of funds
in August 2019. That redirected money would be put
toward migrant detention beds and transportation, as
well as immigration hearing facilities, DHS said.
The Disaster Relief Fund is the largest source of
federal financial assistance after disasters, according
to the Congressional Budget Office and the
Congressional Research Service. The fund is primarily
used to help households and state, local and tribal
governments respond to and recover from natural
disasters.
FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant programs make
federal funds available to state and local governments
to better prepare for and reduce the impacts of future
natural disasters.
A monthly report issued by FEMA’s disaster fund shows
$38 million had been transferred to ICE as of Aug. 31,
2019, while hurricane season was still underway.
VERIFY is awaiting DHS for clarification on when the
rest of the FEMA disaster relief money was transferred
to ICE.
According to the DHS notice, the amount of money it
would transfer from FEMA to ICE was “resourced from
recoveries of prior year funds.” The department said at
the time that “absent new significant catastrophic
events,” it believed the Disaster Relief Fund Base’s
resulting balance would be “sufficient to support
operational needs.”
Nearly $10 million diverted from FEMA operations budget
to ICE in 2018
In 2018, the Trump administration also diverted nearly
$10 million in FEMA funding to ICE, according to a
“Transfer and Reprogramming” notice published by DHS.
The money came from FEMA’s “operations and support”
budget and was also put toward ICE detention beds and
migrant transportation, the DHS notice shows.
In September 2018, DHS denied that the transfer of
funds would affect FEMA’s disaster response, as some
federal lawmakers claimed.
“Under no circumstances was any disaster relief funding
transferred from @fema to immigration enforcement
efforts. This is a sorry attempt to push a false agenda
at a time when the administration is focused on
assisting millions on the East Coast facing a
catastrophic disaster,” a DHS spokesperson wrote on X,
formerly Twitter, on Sept. 11, 2018.
The money was “transferred to ICE from FEMA’s routine
operating expenses” and “could not have been used for
hurricane response due to appropriation limits,” the
spokesperson said.
THE SOURCES
Transfer and Reprogramming notice published by DHS in
July 2019 and obtained by NBC News
DHS reprogramming and transfer announcement on Aug. 27,
2019
Monthly report issued by FEMA’s disaster fund in
September 2019
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst with
the Migration Policy Institute's U.S. Immigration
Policy Program
Government Accountability Office report published in
May 2024
Transfer and Reprogramming notification document
published by DHS in 2018
DHS spokesperson’s X post on Sept. 11, 2018"
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