MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said Tuesday night that, based on documents from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the Department of Homeland Security transferred $9.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the summer, apparently to support the increased costs of President Trump's "zero tolerance" border policy, including the separation of migrant children from their parents.
DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton tweeted that "under no circumstances was any disaster relief funding transferred from @fema to immigration enforcement efforts," adding that "the money in question — transferred to ICE from FEMA's routine operating expenses — could not have been used for hurricane response due to appropriation limitations." The department did not dispute the authenticity of the documents, however, and Merkley and Maddow pointed out that the money is listed to have been moved from FEMA disaster response and recovery accounts to ICE.
Merkley, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he believes the money was transferred around June, the start of what has turned out to be a very active hurricane season. Transferring the funds is legal, he said, but the White House would have to tell Congress — and with an amount this big, it would also probably have to notify Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) or the chairman of the homeland security subcommittee. You can learn more in his interview with Maddow below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classroomsPros and cons The devices could be major distractions
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
