Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ statement created a stir in the already heated political landscape of America when he revealed on Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “does not have the funds” to sustain operations through the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season.
The revelation triggered a backlash, with critics pointing to FEMA’s allocation of $640.9 million in 2023 to assist state and local governments in managing the influx of asylum seekers.
This revelation followed the disclosure that FEMA had spent over $1.4 billion addressing the ongoing migrant crisis since late 2022. The announcement came while Mayorkas was en route to survey damage from Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money we have,” Mayorkas stated aboard Air Force One. However, he warned of imminent challenges, saying, “We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a staunch critic of President Biden’s border policies, voiced his discontent, tweeting, “Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane. Put Americans first.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, also supported Abbott’s call for a shift in priorities and replied to Abbott’s social media post on X and wrote, “Yeah!”.
The migrant crisis has been a persistent source of tension between Republican governors like Abbott and the Biden administration. Abbott’s high-profile decision to bus asylum seekers to Democrat-led cities, including New York, has forced local governments to stretch their budgets to accommodate the influx.
As per the New York Post, FEMA-administered programs have spent over $1.4 billion to support non-federal entities handling the migrant crisis in the past two years. Of that, $780 million was allocated last year through FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and another $640.9 million was spent this year through the Shelter and Services Program.
Mayorkas defended the spending, stressing that the funds used for the migrant crisis were separate from those allocated for disaster relief. “The Shelter and Services Program is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Despite these clarifications, Republican lawmakers were quick to express their frustration. Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) criticised the administration, saying, “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. Now, they’ve abandoned American hurricane victims.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) went further, calling FEMA’s actions “treasonous” and pointing to the loss of lives in the hurricane-affected areas. Meanwhile, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Trump adviser Tim Murtaugh both decried the administration’s priorities, accusing the Biden-Harris administration of putting “America last.”
With Congress not set to reconvene until after Election Day, the pressure on FEMA and the Biden administration is mounting, as Hurricane Helene has already claimed 202 lives and left a trail of devastation across the southeastern US.
While $10 million has been allocated for storm victims, offering grants of $750 for groceries, it pales in comparison to the billions needed to recover from the disaster. As the country braces for more hurricanes, questions about the administration’s handling of disaster relief funds continue to swirl.