"Absolutely not": Top U.S. border official says disaster funds have not been diverted for migrant care

Nogales, Arizona — The U.S. government is "absolutely not" diverting hurricane and disaster relief funds to subsidize the care of migrants crossing the southern border, the top Customs and Border Protection official told CBS News in an exclusive interview. 

Troy Miller, a longtime career official who has led CBP since 2022, strongly refuted false suggestions amplified by former President Donald Trump and other Republicans that federal disaster aid has been impacted by a government program that reimburses organizations assisting migrants processed at the U.S.-Mexico border. That effort, created by Congress and known as the Shelter and Services Program, is a joint initiative by CBP and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

The inaccurate claims about the Biden administration using FEMA's disaster response funding to process or resettle migrants have surfaced as communities in North Carolina, Florida and other states reel from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Asked if there was any truth to those claims, Miller responded, "Absolutely not. [The] Shelter and Services Program is authorized, independently funded by Congress. It has nothing to do with the disaster relief funds."

Pressed further if any disaster recovery funds are being diverted towards the Shelter and Services Program for migrants, Miller gave a one-word response: "None." 

Miller also said CBP is assisting search-and-rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Florida, where the agency has a large footprint. He said employees from the agency's three main branches — U.S. Border Patrol, the Office of Field Operations and Air and Marine Operations — were ready to assist those affected by the powerful storm.

"The search-and-rescue teams will go surge into specific locations, get as close to the storm as they can, then they'll actually respond to those requests for rescue," Miller said.

The false claims about FEMA and migrant funds

The false and misleading claims about FEMA's disaster response funding gained steam online following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, particularly in western North Carolina.

At a rally in Michigan earlier this month, Trump accused the Biden administration of stealing FEMA money for immigration purposes. "They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants," he said.

Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has also sought to link the federal government's response to the hurricanes — and its effectiveness — to the migrant care reimbursement funds.

The Biden administration, Vance claimed on Fox News, "has turned FEMA effectively into an agency that helps to resettle and helps to deal with illegal immigration."

The FEMA and CBP migrant care fund, however, is a program created by Congress, not the Biden administration. Congress first started allocating money for this purpose in fiscal year 2019, during the Trump administration.

The congressionally authorized program to reimburse those helping migrants began in fiscal year 2019 as part of FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program. In fiscal year 2023, Congress replaced that fund with the current Shelter and Services Program. It is funded through CBP and managed by FEMA, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Both iterations of the fund have allowed organizations and jurisdictions along the southern border and in interior U.S. communities receiving migrants to get reimbursed for their efforts to house, feed and otherwise assist those released from federal immigration custody. The money is not available to migrants who enter the U.S. illegally without turning themselves into federal officials.

The funding allocated by Congress for the migrant care grant program is a fraction of the money appropriated for FEMA's disaster relief efforts. For fiscal year 2024, for example, Congress set aside more than $40 billion for FEMA's disaster response fund. In comparison, the agency said last month that it would provide $641 million in fiscal year 2024 to reimburse those sheltering and assisting migrants.

No money from the FEMA disaster relief funding pool has been diverted towards the migrant care reimbursement initiative, the agency has said.

In 2019, the Trump administration did notify Congress that it would divert funds from different parts of the Department of Homeland Security — including FEMA disaster relief money — towards its immigration policies. 

The diverted FEMA disaster aid, the Trump administration told Congress at the time, would be used to construct facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border to hear the asylum claims of migrants placed in the so-called "Remain in Mexico" program.