Some Senate Republicans are calling for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which targets Americans in need due to natural disasters, to help newly released immigrants into the United States. They warn that they are siphoning taxpayer funds from FEMA.
“Congress appropriated more than $30 billion for FEMA in fiscal year 2024. Your administration has spent more than $650 million on FEMA border-related programs in fiscal year 2024. Since taking office, Biden The Harris administration spent approximately $1.5 billion on FEMA border-related programs,'' said Sen. I wrote to Biden and Harris.
The letter dated October 4th reads:
We are concerned about your administration's reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis.as “border czar” under Vice President Harris, FEMA's preparedness for disaster relief has declined.Including hurricane response. [Emphasis added]
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), and Sen. Ron The letter, signed by Sen. Johnson (R-Wis.), reads as follows: Americans in six states were left stranded, including North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina. devastated Due to Hurricane Helen.
WATCH: Whole house flooded out in North Carolina after remnants of Hurricane Helen
As a result, Biden and Harris are accused of using hundreds of thousands of FEMA funds to support newly arrived migrants who were released across the southern border into the interior of the United States.
The Senate Republican caucus is equally furious, asking Biden and Harris to overstate how many workers have been transferred to border missions, how much money has been reprogrammed to the border, and what border control operations entail. Requests for details of FEMA's southern border programs. The government is working to recover funds that went to ineligible immigrants.
“On the first day of the Biden-Harris Administration, you took decisive action to open the border and disrupt the chaos we have seen over the past three and a half years. You stopped Remain in Mexico and deported illegal immigrants. and halted border wall construction. We have encountered more than 8.4 million migrants since you took steps to open our borders,” the senators wrote.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) set multiple records for daily and monthly encounters during the administration. We have repeatedly asked you, your Cabinet, and federal officials what your plan is to address this historic border crisis. By March 2021, FEMA had already mobilized to deal with a surge in unaccompanied minors after the government exempted them from Title 42 orders. As your administration begins to plan for ending the Title 42 mandate; I understand that you have placed a senior FEMA official as the senior coordinating official to respond to the impending surge. [Emphasis added]
Since the Title 42 order ended; FEMA continues to play a role in addressing the ongoing border crisis through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). These programs support the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Southwest Border Security and Preparedness Plan, which requires FEMA to “strengthen.”[…] The ability of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to accept noncitizens who have been processed by CBP and are awaiting the outcome of immigration removal proceedings. and…to partner with and support state, local, and community leaders to reduce increased impacts on local communities. ” DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) monitoring finds that some illegal aliens who are ineligible for EFSP and SSP funding end up receiving benefits funded by these programs I did. Overall, FEMA received $1.7 billion for southern border response operations. Symbolic of this administration's approach, one FEMA official told my subcommittee staff during a field visit that the Biden-Harris border crisis is like a hurricane, saying, FEMA can get through the border crisis by allocating more.” [Emphasis added]
At the same time, the senators said the Biden-Harris administration “regularly urges Congress to reduce funding for detention beds and border enforcement measures,” while continuing to provide taxpayer funding for FEMA border programs. They point out that they are requesting that they be invested in the project. .
“Rather than ensuring that FEMA can respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been drawn into the task of a border crisis,” the senators wrote. “FEMA's mission is to 'help people before, during, and after a disaster,' not to help DHS wipe out the effects of the government's reckless border policies.”
“We are extremely concerned that FEMA’s role at the border is impacting preparedness, preparedness, and response efforts for Hurricane Helen,” they continued.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
