Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a dire warning Wednesday about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) dwindling disaster-relief funds.
The shortage comes after FEMA has spent over $1 billion in the past year alone on services for illegal immigrants, leaving many Americans to question the administration’s priorities.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas said to reporters, adding, “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
The warning comes in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc on the west coast of Florida and much of the Southeastern U.S., leaving entire towns flooded, homes destroyed, and at least 160 people dead.
Particularly hard-hit was Florida’s Gulf Coast, where a record-breaking storm surge created a wall of water that slammed coastal communities.
North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains were also devastated, with at least 57 confirmed fatalities in and around Asheville.
Despite the ongoing disaster and the mounting death toll, FEMA has been stretched thin by its focus on accommodating illegal immigrants.
The agency’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), administered in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has allocated more than $1 billion between fiscal years 2023 and 2024 to provide services to noncitizen migrants.
New York City, for example, received over $20 million in 2024 to help migrants settle into housing.
Meanwhile, American citizens in hurricane-ravaged areas are left wondering when their government will prioritize their needs.
Congress recently approved $20 billion for FEMA’s disaster-relief fund as part of a stopgap government spending bill. However, given the scale of damage caused by Hurricane Helene and the possibility of additional storms, these funds may not be enough to cover all necessary recovery efforts.
Over 150,000 households have already applied for FEMA aid, with many more expected as the full extent of the hurricane’s damage becomes clear.
However, there are growing concerns that FEMA’s resources have been spread too thin to respond effectively. In particular, residents in Western North Carolina are still without water, food, or even basic cell service days after the storm.
Critics argue that the Biden administration has failed to prioritize American citizens, instead diverting FEMA’s resources to support illegal immigration.
FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, originally designed to assist Americans in crisis, has been repurposed to provide aid to illegal immigrants.
Since 2019, funding for this program has surged from $30 million to $425 million in 2023.
Much of this money is funneled to organizations like Catholic Charities, which use the funds to support undocumented migrants.
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking in Atlanta on Wednesday, boasted about FEMA’s efforts to provide $750 in cash assistance to migrants, further fueling criticism that the administration is more focused on appeasing illegal immigrants than on helping American citizens in crisis.
The American citizens have taken the backseat when all of the illegal immigrants are given a free ride at the taxpayers expense. This present administration has done everything in it’s power to destroy America. If Harris and Walz are elected what we know as United States of America will be no more.