Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addressed claims that the Biden administration diverted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to immigration efforts, saying the pools of funds are “different,” but that he understands why Americans are “frustrated.”
“The streams of funding are different, that is not an untrue statement, of course,” Johnson, R-La., told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.” “But the problem is with the American people, see, and what they’re frustrated by, is that FEMA should be involved. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, their mission is to help people in times like this of natural disaster. Not to be engaged in using any pool of funding from any account for resettling illegal aliens who have come across the border. That’s what the Biden administration, Kamala Harris and Secretary Mayorkas have been engaged in.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week denied that FEMA resources were going to migrants, but cited FEMA funds for migrants in 2022.
“Former President Trump is accusing the Biden administration of using FEMA funding to support undocumented migrants. How is the White House responding to that?” a reporter asked during a Friday press conference.
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Speaker Mike Johnson is holding firm to his plan on government funding (Getty Images)
“I mean, it’s just categorically false. It is not true. It is a false statement,” Jean-Pierre responded.
Critics have since compared her statement to comments made in 2022, where she cited FEMA resources were available to illegal immigrants.
“FEMA Regional Administrators have been meeting with city officials on site to coordinate – to coordinate available federal support from FEMA and other federal agencies,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a Sept. 16, 2022, press conference.
“Funding is also available through FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter program to eligible local governments and not-for-profit organizations upon request to support humanitarian relief for migrants,” she added.
FEMA has a pool of funds explicitly used for natural disasters, while Congress called on FEMA in 2022 to disseminate funds from Customs and Border Protection to assist American communities affected by the immigration crisis.
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Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona, on March 13, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FEMA’s website currently has a “Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response” page to address false claims surrounding recovery efforts, including a rebuke of the claim that FEMA diverted disaster response funds to “border related issues.”
“This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts,” FEMA posted in response to the claim.
Hurricane Helene has left more than 220 people dead after flooding devastated towns and cities across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
Debris is strewn on the lake in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas drew national attention last week when he indicated that FEMA does not have enough funding to make it through hurricane season, which typically wraps up in November.
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“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” he said Wednesday, heightening concerns around funds for Americans left displaced by the hurricane. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
The DHS, however, said the following day that FEMA has the funds needed to assist those currently affected.
“FEMA has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts,” spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg said on X. “As [Administrator Deanne Criswell] said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it.”
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An aerial view of the damage following Hurricane Helene in Erwin, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Johnson said during his interview Sunday that when citizens take public transportation and spot illegal immigrants traveling the nation, their tickets are “gleefully” paid for by the Biden-Harris administration via non-governmental organizations.
“When you see illegals in your local airport and you see them being transported around the country with planes, trains and automobiles to every community, everywhere, every state’s a border state now, because of that. That’s the NGOs, the non-governmental organizations mostly, that are transporting those people around. And then they send the receipts to the federal government,” he continued.
House Speaker Mike Johnson holds a news briefing in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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“And Biden, Harris and Mayorkas gleefully pay those receipts because they open the border intentionally. The American people are disgusted by this. They’re fed up with it, and so are Republicans in Congress. And it’ll stop after Nov. 5 because we’re going to have a unified government with Republicans in charge, and we will bring sanity back to this situation,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.