FEMA Seizes $80 Million in Approved Funding for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters
The New York Times
The comptroller’s office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the federal agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city’s accounts.
The Trump administration quickly made good on its vow to claw back federal funding meant to cover some of the costs of housing migrants born 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.”
