Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sparked significant reaction this week by stating that FEMA lacks sufficient funds to support Americans through the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season. The announcement put FEMA’s spending habits under scrutiny.
Questions are being raised about how much FEMA spends on natural disasters compared to its expenditures on migrants in the country.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas said. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
President Joe Biden said Wednesday, Oct. 2, during a briefing that it will cost billions to recover from the storm and that Congress must ensure states have adequate resources. The funding shortage has led to outrage among Republicans.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded on X.
“This is easy. Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane,” Abbott wrote. “Put Americans first.”
“The Biden-Harris administration took more than a billion tax dollars that had been allocated to FEMA for disaster relief and used it to house illegal aliens,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said on X. “Now, they’ve abandoned American hurricane victims in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.”
In response to the backlash, FEMA clarified that there is a separation between funds for disaster relief and those allocated for the migrant crisis.
“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs,” FEMA said. “FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster-related efforts.”
FEMA has already spent more than $1.4 billion since 2022 to address the ongoing migrant crisis, including $640 million this year, which is part of FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Money for hurricane relief, on the other hand, comes from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.
FEMA spent $700 million in financial assistance to victims of Hurricane Beryl, which hit Texas in July 2024. Biden noted it will take billions to help communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, with some estimates reaching as high as $34 billion.
So far, $4 million from FEMA has been distributed to families affected by the storm, with each receiving $750 for grocery reimbursement. Last week, Congress bolstered FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund with $20 billion as part of a short-term government spending bill.
