2024 Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Ohio State Senator J.D. Vance during an Oct. 7 appearance on “Fox & Friends.” claimed “The Biden-Harris administration has changed direction.” [the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)] In effect, it will be an agency that will assist with resettlement and help deal with illegal immigration. ”

Mr. Vance said of FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helen:[is] “It’s like an industrial-scale DMV,” he said during an Oct. 7 appearance on “Fox & Friends.” new york post.

“The Biden-Harris administration has effectively turned FEMA into an agency that helps resettle people and helps deal with illegal immigration,” Vance said during an appearance on the same show, “Fox & Friends.”

“First of all, you have to differentiate between what people are saying. It’s somehow different from the bucket of money that was supposed to be sent to them.” I think this misses the fundamental point that the Biden-Harris administration has effectively turned FEMA into an agency that assists with resettlement and deals with illegal immigration. It just fundamentally shifts focus away from their core business of helping the American people in their time of need,” Vance said.

Vance made the claim while responding to a question from Fox News host Will Cain about conflicting reports about whether FEMA provided funds to illegal immigrants after recent hurricanes.

newsweek It said the apparent funding shortfall was “not the result of funds going to immigrants.” The funding given to the Shelter Services Program, a partnership between FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that serves “immigrant noncitizens,” does not come from FEMA’s budget. This program uses funds unrelated to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.

The media outlet made this distinction following comments from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that “FEMA did not have enough funds to get through hurricane season.” Despite those comments, Mayorkas said FEMA has the necessary resources to respond to Hurricane Milton. the hill Reported. (Related: Fact-checking Vance and Walz’s exchange regarding Minnesota’s abortion law)

or, new york post The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported spending $1.4 billion on migrant care through FEMA programs, including authorized shelter and services programs in 2022. According to the New York Post, DHS will spend $640.9 million this year, and that money comes “solely from shelter and services programs.”

Senate Republicans, including Roger Marshall (Kansas) and Josh Hawley (Missouri), have expressed concerns about the Biden-Harris administration’s spending on FEMA border programs. letter Addressed to the President. Additionally, Republican South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace has introduced a bill that would end FEMA’s shelter and services program and direct the funds to hurricane victims. washington examiner.

Several experts weighed in on Vance’s claims in Check Your Fact.

David J. Beer“Congress is appropriating this money and has been to some extent since 2019,” said the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

“It’s not accurate to say that that’s what Biden and Harris did alone or primarily alone. Immigration funding is a small portion of FEMA’s total spending, and FEMA’s resources It ended up adding resources to FEMA instead of taking them away. That doesn’t mean it was a good idea,” Beer said.

“This assistance has bipartisan support,” he added, calling for fact-checking. El Paso Times October 2019 articlereported at the time that Texas had received $2.9 million in reimbursement for immigrant care.

Simon Hankinson“FEMA’s main disaster budget, the Disaster Relief and Flood Insurance Program, was not used to transport, house, or serve illegal immigrants,” said a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Center on Border Protection and Immigration. said.

“However, other FEMA grants, unlike the DRF program, do not require the president to declare a disaster. “It can siphon off funds intended to be used to facilitate illegal immigration,” Hankinson said.

“Grants through FEMA’s Shelter Services Program are actually paid to “local governments and nonprofit organizations that care for illegal immigrants.” This money was approved for $650 million in fiscal year 2024. used To pay for hotels, meals, and plane, bus, and train tickets to transport illegal immigrants from the border to: charleroiPA, or springfieldoh. In its fiscal year 2024 budget, DHS called for $83.5 million in direct appropriations for shelter and service program grants to “nonprofits and local organizations that provide assistance to noncitizens released from DHS custody.” ” Hankinson said.

“In short, FEMA grants are meant to help taxpayer-paying Americans prepare for and respond to hurricanes, fires, and floods, but the Biden administration has decided to give some of them to activist NGOs and U.S. law enforcement agencies. The money is being used to pay for “sanctuary” cities to settle immigrants. So Vance is right,” he added.

Michelle MittelstadtThe director of communications for the liberal Immigration Policy Institute said FEMA does not provide “immigration-related assistance” to “individual immigrants.”

“Congress created the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which allows FEMA to transfer a portion of the costs associated with shelter and services for released immigrants from DHS to states, local governments, and NGOs. This is a dedicated fund for redemption. This program was created by Congress In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023: Replaces previous emergency food and shelter programsIt was enacted by Congress in 1987 as part of the McKinney-Bent Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. ”

“For decades, FEMA has been responsible for disbursing immigration-related aid, which has been provided to states and local governments and NGOs, not to individual immigrants, and at the direction of Congress. ,” Mittlestadt explained.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick“FEMA has diverted disaster relief spending to immigrants, FEMA is ‘resettling’ immigrants, FEMA is He said there was “no truth” to the claim that they were being “resettled”. The Biden administration is responsible for dealing with illegal immigration, or FEMA’s work in this area. ”

He further added:

“From 2019 onwardsCongress, in five separate pieces of legislation, would require FEMA to operate a reimbursement program that allows communities to recoup some of the costs incurred in providing emergency protective services to immigrants released by the Department of Homeland Security. The funds are being allocated to the project. This funding has bipartisan support. For example, in 2019, when Congress first created this reimbursement program, the Texas Republican Party Sen. John Cornyn said: “We are pleased that border communities and the nonprofits that serve them will receive reimbursement for their costs as they have had to fulfill roles traditionally held by the federal government during this humanitarian crisis. ”

FEMA does not dictate how communities respond to migration or create migration-related policies. Nor does it provide funding to immigrants themselves. Redemption funds are available in Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. was sent to communities across the country. ”

The White House Press Secretary shared an Oct. 4 memo with Check Your Fact and said,[s]Republican leaders and their partners in the right-wing media,” he claims about FEMA.

“Their latest letter baselessly claims that FEMA does not have the funds to respond to Hurricane Helen because of existing programs that assist cities and towns sheltering immigrants.” The memo reads in part, adding: error”

The memo states that “community funding to assist immigrants” is “managed by FEMA,” but says it is not related to disaster response.

“No disaster relief funds were used to support immigrant housing or services. None. In fact, the funds for communities to assist immigrants are allocated directly to CBP by Congress. “It is solely administered by FEMA. This funding is in no way connected to FEMA’s response or recovery efforts,” the memo said.

“FEMA has the funds needed for immediate response and recovery efforts to Hurricane Helen. In fact, FEMA will provide more than $45 million in direct economic assistance to individuals and families affected by Hurricane Helen. “This includes more than $17 million for those recovering and rebuilding in North Carolina,” the memo said.

Note provided by the White House

Check Your Fact has also reached out to spokespeople for Trump and Harris for comment.