Marshall, Lankford Slam Biden-Harris for Using Disaster Relief Funds for Migrant Shelters

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. joined Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in a letter to President Joe Biden calling out the Administration’s reliance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the border crisis which has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response.

“Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated: ‘We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season.’…Your Administration has spent over $650 million on FEMA’s border-related programs in FY2024. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has spent around $1.5 billion on FEMA’s border-related programs. We are concerned that your Administration’s reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis, under Vice President Harris as ‘border czar,’ has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response,” the Senators wrote in the letter. 

“FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission. Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission. FEMA’s mission is ‘helping people before, during, and after disasters,’ not helping DHS clean up the impact of your Administration’s reckless border policies. We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts,” the Senators continued. 

View the letter here or by scrolling below.