False claims that federal emergency disaster money was given to migrants in the U.S. illegally have spread quickly in recent days, boosted by former President Donald Trump and some of his most high-profile supporters.
Trump repeated one of the more extreme baseless allegations during a rally Thursday in Saginaw, Michigan, saying that the money had been stolen.
“They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season,” Trump said.
Trump and his allies appear to be conflating two different funds. FEMA has dedicated disaster relief money that cannot be used for other purposes. Separately, it was tasked by Congress in 2022 to disseminate money from Customs and Border Protection to help communities that received influxes of migrants.
The false claims have gained significant traction among Trump supporters and conservative media since Wednesday, when Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency would need more money for the rest of the hurricane season and Helene recovery, and called for a stable source of reliable funds.
On its specifically dedicated fact check page, FEMA responded to the claim that disaster relief was “diverted to support international efforts or border related issues.”
“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts,” FEMA said in its post. “Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”
FEMA added: “FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs.”
FEMA did administer $640 million in grants from Customs and Border Protection in 2024 and about $364 million in 2023 to cities and counties that serve migrants. However, that program called the Shelter and Services Program, or SSP, is separate from FEMA’s disaster relief fund which is more than $20 billion.
The SSP was created in 2022 when cities were struggling to deal with influxes of migrants. That same year, Congress directed Customs and Border Protection to transfer $800 million to FEMA to support cities sheltering migrants. The money was transferred to FEMA and, as with many other federal grant programs FEMA managed the distribution of the grants.
For 2023 and 2024 SSP funds were given to cities like Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia, as well as to nonprofit organizations like Catholic Charities and The Salvation Army.
It is illegal for funding that is appropriated by Congress for one purpose to be diverted and used for another purpose.
Disaster funds are separate and used to direct, coordinate, manage and fund eligible response and recovery efforts associated with domestic major disasters and emergencies.
FEMA administrator says some areas still isolated and in need of basic supplies
Through these funds, FEMA can fund authorized federal disaster support activities as well as eligible state, territorial, tribal, and local actions such as providing emergency protection and debris removal.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said any claims of disaster funds going to illegal immigrants are false.
“As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters,” the spokesperson said. “The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) 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.”
Efforts to clarify the funding have done little to stymie a battery of claims about FEMA and migrants that have spanned from misleading and lacking context to entirely false. Some, like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, falsely claimed on X that FEMA had used disaster funds to house migrants and that the government had “abandoned” hard hit areas. X owner Elon Musk, among Trump’s most vocal backers, reposted Jordan’s false claim and a variety of others about FEMA.
Part of the issue for FEMA comes from the lack of a consistent federal budget. Congress has been funding the federal government with at least four short-term spending bills in the last year known as continuing resolutions instead of a year’s worth of funds. Its last appropriations bill, passed and signed in March, funded the government through September.
“We have the immediate needs right now on a continuing resolution. We have funds, but that is not a stable source of supply, if you will. This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery, the magnitude of a billion, multibillion-dollar undertaking and a multiyear undertaking,” Mayorkas told reporters on Air Force One, noting that entire towns have disappeared.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that President Joe Biden had overseen over $45 million provided to those directly affected by Hurricane Helene. So far 245,000 people have applied for financial assistance from FEMA according to the agency.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for FEMA cash assistance programs, according to the FEMA website.
Mayorkas did say that with the expectation that another hurricane will make landfall this season, FEMA does not have enough to cover the expected damage.
“We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what — what is imminent,” he said.
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