The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has retrieved $59 million paid to hotels in New York City for housing illegal immigrants.
The $59 million payment was made by officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Elon Musk recently revealed the payment, which was uncovered during an audit by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the confiscation of the money, which she claimed was paid to the hotels by “deep state activists.”
According to Secretary Noem, Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang recently reported to be infiltrating the US, was operating out of the luxurious Roosevelt Hotel, which received FEMA funds to house illegal immigrants.
“I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels,” said Noem. “FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to house Laken Riley’s killer.”
The use of FEMA funds to help house illegal immigrants was standard practice during President Joe Biden’s administration, a policy President Donald Trump and Republicans have sternly criticized.
The Trump campaign published information prior to the November elections revealing FEMA had doubled its funding for non-governmental entities providing housing assistance to immigrants apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security.
FEMA upped its financing of such entities by around $300 million, from $363.8 in 2023 to $650 million in 2024.
Noem’s recent actions and words suggest the Trump campaign will be carefully scrutinizing, if not diminishing or scrapping, funding destined for illegal immigrants.
“Mark my words: there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people,” assured Noem.
