No, FEMA Isn’t Using Disaster Funds for Migrants – And Trump, Vance, and MAGA Know It
The real story is Congress-allocated COMPLETELY SEPARATE funds that FEMA simply administers. If you’ve got a gripe, take it up with lawmakers – not with FEMA or Biden.
Listen up, MAGAverse: FEMA disaster money is NOT being spent on migrants. The “FEMA money” that is going to migrants is not “FEMA money.” It’s assistance for migrants voted by congress in which FEMA’s role is to simply be the service that delivers the aid. Listen closely. Think. Use your brain. Blaming FEMA and calling it FEMA money is like saying your IRS tax refund check is Postal Service money. That’s right. Because the money doesn’t come from FEMA’s disaster fund; it’s allocated by Congress specifically for these purposes. FEMA just happens to be the agency that administers the funds. If you have a gripe, find out how your congressional rep voted and complain to him/her. FEMA is just the messenger and NO DISASTER FUNDS ARE INVOLVED.
Sheesh.
The level of disinformation that is being put out now is just beyond comprehension. And it’s being put out blatantly by people who know better. J.D. Vance certain knew better when he put it in his Wall Street Journal op-ed.
The Truth About How It Works
I know I’ve already lost the people I’m trying to convince. The MAGAs who landed here have read it, ignored it, and gone ahead with their lies. But in case there are reasonable people out there who want to try to explain this, here’s how it works. FEMA manages a program called the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which is funded entirely separately from the Disaster Relief Fund. Congress appropriated $650 million this year alone for the SSP, targeting support for communities temporarily housing migrants released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Congress voted for the $650M. That’s the REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED CONGRESS. FEMA simply delivered these allocated funds to local governments and nonprofits that were approved to receive them—implementing the will of the republican controlled congress.
The FEMA Disaster Relief Funds Are Separate
The funds for natural disasters, however, come from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, a completely separate pot of money meant specifically for disaster response. This fund has its own dedicated congressional appropriation and remains untouched by migrant-related programs. READ MY LIPS: UNTOUCHED BY MIGRANT PROGRAMS. FEMA’s disaster relief efforts are entirely unaffected by the SSP allocations, no matter how much the MAGA echo chamber wants to muddy the waters.
So, if you’ve got complaints about FEMA’s role in supporting these services, your issue isn’t with FEMA or even Biden. It’s with Congress – they’re the ones who decide where federal dollars go. Vance and Trump know this distinction perfectly well, and it’s a shame they’re stirring up misinformation to score cheap political points. Enough is enough with these baseless claims.