Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree
Donald Trump and Republicans claim that FEMA doesn't have money for Hurricane Helene relief, because as much as $1 billion or more was transferred out of FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund to deal with illegal immigrant needs.
There is no evidence of that. 🧵 1/ with receipts
FEMA puts out a monthly report on how much is in the Disaster Relief Fund.
It lists all the transfers of money and what's been spent.
You can find them at this link: https://fema.gov/about/reports-and-data/disaster-relief-fund-monthly-reports 2/
The latest report lists several minor transfers in and out of FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund in 2024. They don't come close to $1 billion, and don't involve aid for illegal immigrants.
FEMA has now set up a 'Rumor Response Page' to address this specific charge that money was moved out of the Disaster Relief Fund.
https://fema.gov/disaster/current/hurricane-helene/rumor-response
4/
Was FEMA money spent on housing for migrants? Yes. But it didn't come from the Disaster Relief Fund. Congress approved a transfer of $650 million from Customs and Border Protection into a special shelter program run by FEMA.
https://congress.gov/118/bills/hr2882/BILLS-118hr2882enr.pdf#page=139
5/
Has FEMA ever transferred money from the Disaster Relief Fund to illegal immigration efforts? YES.
Donald Trump did that in 2019. $38 million was transferred from the Disaster Relief Fund to ICE.
https://fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/disaster-relief-fund-report_9-2019.pdf#page=7
6/
FEMA will issue another monthly report on the Disaster Relief Fund later this month. We'll be able to check the details again soon.
At this time, Trump's claims are FALSE.
/fin
One more tweet. Does the Disaster Relief Fund need money? Yes. The White House asked for $20 billion. House Republicans did not include any money in the CR.
FEMA has regular resources for disaster work. But the Disaster Relief Fund needs more to deal with Helene. /fin
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