Factchecking claims about Hurricane Helene response efforts

At multiple campaign events since the hurricane struck, Trump and his allies have claimed that government money earmarked for disaster victims has been spent on migrants who crossed illegally into the US.

“Kamala spent all her Fema money—billions of dollars—on housing for illegal migrants”, Trump said in Michigan last week.

Trump’s claim that Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has spent “all her Fema money” on housing these people is false.

Fema, a US government agency, has a Disaster Relief Fund (worth more than $20bn for the last financial year) which is ring-fenced to spend on responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Fema also has a dedicated budget from Congress to be spent on food, shelter, transportation, and other support services for immigrants released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

This budget amounts to around one billion dollars over the last two financial years – not the “billions” Trump claims.

So, these are two separate pots of money – administered by the agency – which Trump appears to be conflating.

Fema, which has now set up a fact-checking page, external on its website, called Trump’s claim “false” saying, “no money is being diverted from disaster response needs”.

In 2019, while Trump was President, money was diverted from Fema’s Disaster Relief Fund, external – around $38m – to give to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The focus on Fema’s current funding comes after the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas – who oversees the agency – warned that it was running low on funds for the rest of the hurricane season.

But Fema says it has “enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs”.