WASHINGTON — The acting head of the federal agency responsible for responding to disasters said Monday that he’s suspending payments sent to New York City to house migrants and that staff who made them will be held accountable, after Elon Musk blasted the transactions on his social media platform.
Musk, who as head of the Department of Government Efficiency has consolidated control over much of the federal government and is working to cut costs and shrink the workforce, posted on X that his team “just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” He said the money is intended for disaster relief and would be clawed back.
Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reposted Musk’s comments and said the payments were suspended as of Sunday.
Musk gave no evidence to support his claim, and information from the city of New York indicated that money it’s received to care for migrants was appropriated by Congress and allocated to the city last year by FEMA.
The city hasn’t been notified of any pause in funding, spokeswoman Liz Garcia said. A statement noted that the city has received federal government reimbursements through the past week and said the matter would be discussed directly with federal officials.
Neither Hamilton nor Musk specified what kind of payments were involved. But the comments on X — reposted thousands of times — likely referred to payments made by the Shelter and Services Program, which gives money to reimburse cities, towns or organizations for immigration-related expenses.
FEMA did not respond to questions about the payments. But spokesman Trisha McLaughlin for the Department of Homeland Security — to which FEMA belongs — pointed to recent statements by Secretary Kristi Noem.
“As Secretary Noem said yesterday, we must get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,” McLaughlin told The Associated Press on Monday. “This is yet another egregious example. Individuals who circumvented leadership and unilaterally made this payment will be fired and held accountable.”
When migrants arrive at the border, they’re often released into the U.S. because the federal government doesn’t have enough space to hold them all. Feeding and housing them often falls on local and state governments, as well as nonprofits.
In 2019, with the number of people coming directly to the southern border climbing dramatically, Congress authorized the federal government to reimburse some of those costs. Those were the first such payments and the beginning of the Shelter and Services Program.
The money comes directly from Congress and is specifically for Customs and Border Protection — also part of the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA administers the payments.
The money is separate from the disaster relief fund, which is FEMA’s main funding stream to help people and governments affected by disasters.
The Shelter and Services Program has become a flashpoint for criticism by Republicans, who incorrectly claim it’s taking money from people hit by hurricanes or floods.
Critics also have questioned whether taxpayer money should go to cities and states where right-to-shelter laws mean everyone must be given a place to stay.
At least two other localities that received money through the Shelter and Services Program said they had not heard from the federal government about whether they would take back the money.
Musk called the $59 million his team has identified “gross insubordination to the President’s executive order” and said the funds would be recouped.
It was not clear where the $59 million figure came from, and officials did not provide details to AP.
The New York City mayor’s office said it received $81 million in payments from the federal government for immigration-related costs last week in two separate pieces — one of which was about $59 million, with $19 million for direct hotel costs.
New York City’s right-to-shelter laws require the city to provide shelter to anyone who’s homeless. It has historically housed homeless people in hotels.
City resources have been strained with an influx of roughly 230,000 migrants since the spring of 2022. In addition to housing migrants temporarily in hotels, it also uses tent complexes.
The city says it currently shelters 46,000 migrants, most of whom are part of families.
In another post Monday, Musk said that under the Biden administration, FEMA took money away from disaster relief and “spent it on 5 star hotels for illegals.”
Garcia said the city has never paid luxury rates. The vast majority are outside Manhattan, and the government has paid on average $152 a night for rooms, according to a 2024 city comptroller report. In comparison, 5-star hotels in Manhattan for the coming weekend run from $400 a night to well over $1,000.
The payments of $81 million, Garcia said, covered reimbursements for November 2023 to October 2024, including hotel, security, food, and other costs. She said the city applied in April, the money was appropriated last year by Congress, and FEMA allocated it last year.
The city has millions more in outstanding reimbursements, she said..
The confusion over the payments comes amid intense interest in FEMA’s future.
In a North Carolina trip last month, President Trump said he was considering “getting rid of ” FEMA. He’s also creating a task force to carry out a “full-scale review” on the organization.
Republicans last fall lambasted FEMA, saying it wasn’t doing enough to help survivors hit by double hurricanes Helene and Milton. The agency was also beset by false claims about the storms and withheld aid — often fueled by Trump and others just ahead of the presidential election.
Criticism of FEMA intensified after the agency announced that a staffer was fired after she directed workers not to go to homes with yard signs supporting Trump.
Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate from Virginia, previously worked on emergency management issues for the departments of Homeland Security and State but has limited experience handling natural disasters.
He’s been critical of FEMA on social media and outspoken about increasing security along the southern border, where the agency’s resources could be redirected.
Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term prepared by the president’s allies, called for dismantling Homeland Security and relocating FEMA to the Department of Interior or the Department of Transportation.
It also suggested changing the formula that the agency uses to determine when federal disaster assistance is warranted, shifting the costs of preventing and responding to disasters to states.
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Attanasio reported from New York.