Yes, the Trump administration diverted FEMA disaster relief funds to ICE

VERIFY continues to fact-check claims about disaster funding amid a deadly hurricane season that is battering the southeastern U.S. 

We recently debunked claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is running out of disaster money to help hurricane survivors because it spent the money to house undocumented migrants. 

Those claims prompted other social media posts about the use of FEMA funds while former President Donald Trump was in office. The viral posts claim the Trump administration diverted millions of dollars in FEMA disaster relief funds to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration enforcement efforts.

Several VERIFY readers emailed and texted us to ask if these claims are true. 

THE QUESTION

Did the Trump administration divert FEMA disaster relief funds to ICE?

THE SOURCES

• Transfer and Reprogramming notice published by DHS in July 2019 and obtained by NBC News
• DHS reprogramming and transfer announcement on Aug. 27, 2019
• Monthly report issued by FEMA’s disaster fund in September 2019
• Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute's U.S. Immigration Policy Program
• Government Accountability Office report published in May 2024
• Transfer and Reprogramming notification document published by DHS in 2018
• DHS spokesperson’s X post on Sept. 11, 2018

THE ANSWER

Yes, the Trump administration diverted FEMA disaster relief funds to ICE. 

WHAT WE FOUND

Former President Trump’s administration did redirect millions of dollars from FEMA’s disaster relief fund to ICE in 2019. That money was put toward the creation of temporary immigration hearing facilities along the Southwest border. 

Though the move prompted criticism from Democrats in Congress and organizations representing emergency planners, these types of money transfers between Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies aren’t exclusive to the Trump administration. Both FEMA and ICE are under DHS. 

“It’s common for funds to be shifted around within DHS pots of money, in what’s officially known as transfers and reprogramming of funds,” Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute's U.S. Immigration Policy Program, told VERIFY. 

These types of transfers also happened during former President Barack Obama’s administration, according to a May 2024 Government Accountability Office report. From fiscal years 2014 through 2023, DHS notified Congress that it planned to move a total of $1.8 billion in funding around to help ICE, the report says. DHS said it would move this funding to ICE from other agencies as well as within ICE itself. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Trump administration’s actions to transfer money from FEMA to ICE.

$155M diverted from FEMA disaster fund to ICE in 2019

DHS notified Congress in July 2019 about its plan to transfer $271 million from various agencies within the department, including $155 million from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, to ICE, a “Transfer and Reprogramming” notice obtained by NBC News shows. Another $3.4 million came from FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation funds, according to the DHS notice.

The department publicly confirmed the transfer of funds in August 2019. That redirected money would be put toward migrant detention beds and transportation, as well as immigration hearing facilities, DHS said.

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.

FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant programs make federal funds available to state and local governments to better prepare for and reduce the impacts of future natural disasters. 

A monthly report issued by FEMA’s disaster fund shows $38 million had been transferred to ICE as of Aug. 31, 2019, while hurricane season was still underway. 

VERIFY is awaiting DHS for clarification on when the rest of the FEMA disaster relief money was transferred to ICE.

According to the DHS notice, the amount of money it would transfer from FEMA to ICE was “resourced from recoveries of prior year funds.” The department said at the time that “absent new significant catastrophic events,” it believed the Disaster Relief Fund Base’s resulting balance would be “sufficient to support operational needs.”

Nearly $10 million diverted from FEMA operations budget to ICE in 2018

In 2018, the Trump administration also diverted nearly $10 million in FEMA funding to ICE, according to a “Transfer and Reprogramming” notice published by DHS.

The money came from FEMA’s “operations and support” budget and was also put toward ICE detention beds and migrant transportation, the DHS notice shows. 

In September 2018, DHS denied that the transfer of funds would affect FEMA’s disaster response, as some federal lawmakers claimed.

“Under no circumstances was any disaster relief funding transferred from @fema to immigration enforcement efforts. This is a sorry attempt to push a false agenda at a time when the administration is focused on assisting millions on the East Coast facing a catastrophic disaster,” a DHS spokesperson wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sept. 11, 2018.

The money was “transferred to ICE from FEMA’s routine operating expenses” and “could not have been used for hurricane response due to appropriation limits,” the spokesperson said.