FEMA Seizes $80 Million in Approved Funding for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters
The Trump administration quickly made good on its vow to claw back federal funding meant to cover some of the costs of housing migrants borne by New York City, unilaterally reversing the transfer of $80 million that the Federal Emergency Management Agency made to the city last week.
The comptroller’s office noticed early Wednesday that $80 million had gone missing from city bank accounts. The Department of Homeland Security, which houses FEMA, confirmed later that day that the money had indeed been taken back, a significant escalation of President Trump’s attempts to freeze or reverse funding that had previously been appropriated by Congress.
“I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to N.Y.C. migrant hotels,” Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said on X. “Mark my words: there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people.”
Ms. Noem added that the city was using FEMA funding to finance the use of the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan as a migrant shelter, claiming that the hotel served as a “base of operations” for Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.
Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams, said that City Hall had communicated with the White House and had requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to “try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”
She added that City Hall was conducting an “internal investigation into how this occurred,” and that the city’s Law Department was “already exploring various litigation options.”
The funds in question had been appropriated by Congress last year under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. The payment was issued through a grant from the Shelter and Services Program, administrated by FEMA and initiated by Congress in 2023 to issue grants to cities providing services to migrants who had been released from federal custody after crossing the border.
The program, created amid an influx of immigrants, became a frequent target of Mr. Trump and his Republican allies, who expressed outrage over the use of taxpayer dollars to house migrants in hotels and other shelters.
Criticism of the program resurfaced on Monday when Elon Musk, in a post on X, said that his government cost-cutting team had identified a $59 million payment that FEMA made to New York City to pay for the housing of migrants at hotels.
The $59 million, city officials said, was part of the $80 million payment that FEMA made to the city last week.
The fallout from Mr. Musk’s post was swift. It led to the firing on Tuesday of four FEMA employees, including its chief financial officer, who was accused of undermining the agency’s leadership by disbursing the $80 million — even though the funds had been previously appropriated by Congress.
And it led FEMA’s acting director, Cameron Hamilton, to announce that the payment would be suspended, even though most of the money had already been disbursed to the city.
On Wednesday, Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, described the clawback as illegal and called on Mayor Adams to pursue legal action to recoup the “tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE,” as Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting team is known.
“This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing,” Mr. Lander said in a statement. “This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.”
Reporting was contributed by Benjamin Oreskes, Mattathias Schwartz and Chelsia Rose Marcius.
