FEMA is running low on disaster money, but not because the funds went to housing undocumented migrants

On Oct. 2, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) doesn’t have enough funding to last through hurricane season.

The warning came nearly a week after Hurricane Helene plowed through several states in the Southeast, flooding towns and killing more than 200 people. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but most hurricanes typically occur in September and October.

“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas said. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”

Multiple VERIFY readers, including Emily, Ken and Tom, sent us messages asking if these claims are true.

THE QUESTION

Is FEMA running out of disaster relief funding because it spent the money to house undocumented migrants?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, FEMA isn’t running out of disaster relief funding because it spent the money to house undocumented migrants.

WHAT WE FOUND

FEMA is not running out of funding to help hurricane survivors because it spent the money to house undocumented migrants, like viral social posts falsely claim.

“These claims are completely false,” a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told VERIFY. “The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”

The Disaster Relief Fund, which FEMA manages, and the money used to fund the Shelter and Services Program — a federal grant program administered by FEMA in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that provides financial support to non-federal entities to help undocumented migrants — are appropriated through two entirely separate funding streams. Both are authorized and funded by Congress each year, and the money can only be used for their designated purposes.

“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts,” FEMA says on its website.

“This is FALSE. The Disaster Relief Fund is specifically appropriated by Congress to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate impacts of natural disasters. It is completely separate from other grant programs administered by FEMA for DHS,” Fernández Hernández wrote.

The Disaster Relief Fund

The Disaster Relief Fund is the largest source of federal financial assistance after disasters, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Congressional Research Service. The fund is primarily used to help households and state, local and tribal governments respond to and recover from natural disasters.

Hurricanes have the largest impact on disaster relief-related spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and FEMA says large responses typically deplete the fund rapidly.

Over the last four years, Congress appropriated more than $175 billion to the Disaster Relief Fund, the Congressional Research Service notes.

“Even with that historically high level of appropriations, at the end of FY2023—after five weeks of emergency measures limiting most obligations from the Disaster Relief Fund to immediate needs—the Disaster Relief Fund only had an unobligated balance of $2.55 billion available for the costs associated with major disasters,” the Congressional Research Service explains in a January 2024 report.

The Stafford Act requires FEMA to publish a monthly report on the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which includes a funding summary, a table delineating the DRF funding activities each month by state and event, a summary of the funding for the catastrophic events, and an estimate of the date on which the funds will be exhausted. The most recent report, which was published on Sept. 12, shows the Disaster Relief Fund had around $3.4 billion in it, as of Aug. 31.

Congress recently replenished a key source of FEMA’s response efforts, providing $20 billion for the agency’s disaster relief fund as part of a short-term government spending bill to fund the government through Dec. 20. The bill also gave FEMA flexibility to draw on the money more quickly as needed. But some lawmakers voted against allocating additional funding to FEMA before Hurricane Helene made landfall in late September.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was not specific about how much additional money FEMA may need to get through the rest of this year’s hurricane season, but his remarks underscored concerns voiced by President Joe Biden and some lawmakers earlier this week that Congress may need to pass a supplemental spending bill this fall to help states with recovery efforts

Both chambers of Congress are not in session until November, as lawmakers focus on campaigning ahead of the election.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, gave no hint he was considering changing that schedule during a speech on Oct. 1. He said that Congress just provided FEMA with the funds it needs to respond and that lawmakers would make sure those resources are appropriately allocated.

A bipartisan group of Senators from affected states wrote their leadership this week saying it’s clear Congress must act to meet constituents’ needs. They said that may even require Congress to come back in October, ahead of the election.

The Shelter and Services Program

The Shelter and Services Program is a federal grant program administered by FEMA in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The program, which replaced FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSP-H) in 2023, provides financial support to non-federal entities that provide humanitarian services to undocumented migrants following their release from DHS’ short-term holding facilities.

The primary services the program provides include shelter, food, transportation, acute medical care and personal hygiene supplies. The program also provides clothing and translation services.

The Shelter and Services Program is not managed using any of FEMA’s disaster relief funding. Instead, its funding is authorized by Congress under the DHS Appropriations Act to support communities that are providing services to migrants. In 2024, the grant program received $640.9 million in funding, and in 2023, the program received $363.8 million in funding, which is roughly $1 billion or less than 1 percent of the funding allocated to the Disaster Relief Fund.

The Congressional Research Service says Shelter and Services Program funding “only covers eligible activities and services provided to noncitizen migrants released from DHS custody,” meaning it cannot be used for federal disaster relief efforts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.