Trump spreads lies about Federal hurricane disaster relief

[Magical Realist]

Donny Douchebag is at it again. Don't his followers ever get tired of getting all riled up by his lying and his "fake news"?

"Trump and a number of his Republican allies have been pushing unsubstantiated claims this week concerning the response of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to Helene, which left over 200 people dead and dealt massive damage to infrastructure when it ripped through the Southeast last week.

The ex-president falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was diverting disaster relief money to illegal migrants and made an evidence-free assertion that the Biden administration was denying relief to "Republican areas."

Trump also falsely claimed that Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, with whom he held a joint news conference concerning disaster relief efforts on Friday, was unable to speak with Biden about federal disaster assistance over the phone.

Geoff Duncan, the Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia who has endorsed Harris in this year's election, said during a CNN broadcast on Friday night that Trump's false hurricane claims acted as solemn evidence pertaining to the state of his party.

"It's a sobering reminder of where the Republican Party is at right now, and how deep in the gutter we truly are," Duncan told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. "To think that we're going to use this platform to politicize ... one of the worst storms to hit this region ever."


"Donald Trump is down in Georgia today only because he cares about trying to win Georgia," he added. "Because he's realized that if he loses Georgia, he's probably going to end up going to jail."

The cable news network's chief media analyst Brian Stelter then blasted Trump, accusing him of telling Americans "not to believe your eyes or your ears" and of spreading "lies" for "brazen political purposes."

"It's about saying, 'Biden and Harris are incompetent, don't trust them, they hate America,'" said Stelter. "That's the message from Republicans, it's so extreme though ... The problem with the hurricane is that the people who are being lied to now about Helene, they're actually going to suffer as a result."---- https://www.newsweek.com/trump-slammed-o...es-1964258

[Syne]

Only 3 months ago, Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas said FEMA was "tremendously prepared":

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WMwHAIho4AU
But at the end, he says FEMA funds will run out by mid-August. How is that "tremendously prepared?"

Also from Newsweek, belying their own fact-check:

The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) provides funding to non-federal agencies to spend on humanitarian services for non-U.S. citizens. For the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on Monday, $640 million was made available.

The FEMA website says this funding is intended to "support CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities." The money can be spent on a range of services, including food, shelter, transportation, acute medical care, clothing and translation services.

The budget for the past year was a significant increase from the 2023 fiscal year, when $363 million was allocated. Together, more than $1 billion has been spent on non-citizen services over the past two years.
- https://www.newsweek.com/fema-migrant-fu...ef-1963336

[Magical Realist]

Leave it to the racist trumpers to somehow blame the brown homeless people at the border for the problems of hurricane relief:

"This week, Republicans, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Donald Trump Jr., took issue with $640 million of FEMA funding allocated for assisting migrants after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' said that FEMA was "meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have," while adding that the agency did not have enough funding to make it through another hurricane this season.

"This is easy," Texas Governor Greg Abbot posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane. Put Americans first."

Donald Trump Jr, son of Republican nominee Donald Trump, posted: "So FEMA is almost out of money to help with Federal Emergencies (you know the FE in FEMA) because they spent almost $1,000,000,000 helping illegal immigrants over the last two years."

The government agency has set up a page to address these circulating rumors regarding its response to Hurricane Helene, which hit numerous East Coast states at the end of September, killing at least 120 people.

Addressing claims that FEMA does not have enough money to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the page reads: "FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs."

Congress recently granted $20 billion for the agency's disaster relief fund as part of a short-term government spending bill to fund the government through December 20.

Replying to the rumor that funding for FEMA disaster response had been "diverted to support international efforts or border related issues," the government agency said on its specially dedicated fact check page: "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."

Some X users, including Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw, accused FEMA of diverting funds for disaster relief to the Shelter and Services Program, which provides money for migrant services.

"Maybe, just maybe, the Biden-Harris Administration should stop diverting FEMA funds—meant to help AMERICANS during disaster recovery—to facilitate mass-paroling illegal migrants into the country," Crenshaw posted on X.

A Department for Homeland Security spokesperson told Newsweek: "These claims are completely false. As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters."

"The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA's disaster-related authorities or funding streams.-----
https://www.newsweek.com/fema-response-a...ts-1963702

[Syne]

Just because some non-white people may be involved doesn't make it racist. No one is saying that the brown people, themselves, somehow got a hold of the FEMA funds themselves. That's the kind of moronic gymnastics you have to pull to actually make it racist. Now, you might try calling it scapegoating, but again, no one is saying the brown people are primarily to blame. What people are actually saying, repeatedly, in both articles you've cited, is that the Biden-Harris administration is to blame. Both for creating the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, allowing so many unvetted immigrants into the country, and then spend so much money to support them. People have the same criticisms about the money going to Ukraine, but since Ukrainians are white, no one tries to play this stupid race-baiting nonsense.

That makes you the racist. You're not only using a race as a token in your political attacks, you obviously have a double standard depending solely on race.


But where did that $20 billion go? Did it get embezzled? Was it just fungible? We know a lot of things can be labeled disasters.

[Magical Realist]

Trump and his followers are on record for blaming immigrants for just about everything. Rising crime rates, rising housing prices, welfare abuse, abusing the healthcare system, the spread of covid, the "poisoning of American blood", stealing jobs from Americans, the fentanyl crisis, eating dogs and cats, terrorism, voter fraud, and now stealing funds from hurricane victims. It is the same old story with every rightwing populist regime. Hitler scapegoated the Jews to gain power. And Trump scapegoats Latino immigrants to do the same. By stoking this latent racist hatred and xenophobia of the masses with lies he can appear to be the needed Savior that can rescue them all. It's the only way he can win against Harris.

[stryder]

Theres never any mention of the Human Trafficking Ring that Republicans were running sending bus loads of migrants from Texas to places like New York. I know they* might of wrongly thought that it would be a political statement, but in reality it just proved they* are criminals.

That movement of people would of also likely strained funding in regards to how to handle the problem, so it's partly there* own doing.

(* The Republicans involved.)

[C C]

According to NBC (that year), more than 271,000 Ukrainian refugees had been admitted to the US by 2023, far above Biden’s goal of 100,000. "About 150,000 Ukrainians came to the U.S. outside of the program, some through the traditional refugee program and others by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border prior to the program launching last April."

While migrants from Mexico still supposedly top the scales, those numbers have fallen dramatically compared to in the past. It's India that now encroaches on Mexico figures, along with China after that. Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Canada are next in quantity. (PEW data)

People are leaving Canada because of the overall cost of living and housing. "I never realized that living in a Western country, you can only afford renting a room in the basement," she said. She declined to give her real name because she fled Hong Kong after participating in the 2019 protests triggered by a now-abandoned extradition bill. (Canada's surging expenses fuels reverse immigration)

There has also been both unauthorized migrants and legal-process refugees from Afghanistan (those that Biden had to hurriedly leave behind, who had risked helping US forces during their stint there). "As of March 1, there were more than 80,000 Afghans who were in the visa process, about a quarter of whom had already been cleared for final interviews and vetting outside of Afghanistan, according to a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity." (US to lift Afghan visa limit under Biden, Congress deal)

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Theres never any mention of the Human Trafficking Ring that Republicans were running sending bus loads of migrants from Texas to places like New York. I know they* might of wrongly thought that it would be a political statement, but in reality it just proved they* are criminals.

That movement of people would of also likely strained funding in regards to how to handle the problem, so it's partly there* own doing.

(* The Republicans involved.)

Texas taxpayers paid for the cost (presumably other border states, too): Texas has spent over $148 million busing migrants to other parts of the country (NPR)

Most migrants don't want to remain in border areas -- for various reasons, including the giant surplus of unauthorized migrants already filling whatever job slots might be available for them there. So they move on, regardless -- just slower without the busing initiative.

That's why Dem criticism later flip-flopped, when they realized how unauthorized migrants benefitted from "free" transportation.

Here's why Democrats have embraced busing migrants (National Public Radio)
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/115441210...-democrats

EXCERPTS: But some cities and states led by Democrats later warmed to the practice, most recently Arizona's new governor, Katie Hobbs.

"If we're spending money to bus people, why just not get them to their final destination?" Hobbs told reporters at a recent press conference. Here's how the politics of transporting migrants has evolved...

[...] People have always traveled within the U.S. once they claim asylum at the border. In the border town of Del Rio, Texas, for instance, the non-profit Val Verde Humanitarian Border Coalition receives immigrants directly from the U.S. Border Patrol station. From there, they only have a few options for getting to their final destinations.

[...] That reality has helped shift the politics of transporting immigrants. "Something that looked like a punitive thing towards immigrants done for political gains suddenly turned itself on the head because migrants are rational people," says Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.

Not only could they get a free ticket to a family or a shelter, but "they found these cities were actually quite hospitable to immigrants," says Chishti.

Government agencies and nonprofits in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York have welcomed tens of thousands of immigrants bussed from the border. In many cases, they provide food, shelter, legal services and help with transportation.

[Syne]

Trump and his followers are on record for blaming immigrants for just about everything. Rising crime rates, rising housing prices, welfare abuse, abusing the healthcare system,  the spread of covid, the "poisoning of American blood", stealing jobs from Americans, the fentanyl crisis, eating dogs and cats, terrorism, voter fraud, and now stealing funds from hurricane victims. It is the same old story with every rightwing populist regime. Hitler scapegoated the Jews to gain power. And Trump scapegoats Latino immigrants to do the same. By stoking this latent racist hatred and xenophobia of the masses with lies he can appear to be the needed Savior that can rescue them all. It's the only way he can win against Harris.

If US politicians didn't allow it, none of those things would happen. So you could think beyond your simple-minded race-baiting, you'd understand who is really to blame for all of those (aside from the actual criminals coming across the border, who are responsible for their own crimes).

You really believe that anyone thinks migrants are even capable of "stealing funds from hurricane victims" on their own? Can you even comprehend the straw man you're making by completely removing the politicians and bureaucrats as the actual causes? Probably not, as you've repeatedly proven to be seriously lacking in basic reasoning skills. You just parrot propaganda.

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Theres never any mention of the Human Trafficking Ring that Republicans were running sending bus loads of migrants from Texas to places like New York.  I know they* might of wrongly thought that it would be a political statement, but in reality it just proved they* are criminals.   

That movement of people would of also likely strained funding in regards to how to handle the problem, so it's partly there* own doing.

(* The Republicans involved.)

You need to look up what human trafficking means. Hint, it has nothing to do with moving people voluntarily. Otherwise the airline, bus, passenger train, etc. industries would be equally "criminals."
See how ridiculous you sound?

[Yazata]

The new establishment narrative is that the allegation that FEMA has been spending funds intended for emergency relief on housing and feeding illegal aliens is just a politically inspired "lie".

A whitehouse spokesperson insists that the money spent on illegal aliens came from a separate FEMA fund and didn't come from emergency relief funds at all.

Except that doesn't really make sense. FEMA is appropriated money from Congress for emergency response. That's what the 'E' in the agency's name means. If FEMA, or their DHS masters, decided to divide up that appropriation and devote much of it to feeding, housing and transporting illegal aliens, then the money could only have come from money originally intended for disaster relief.

[Syne]

Every congressional funding bill I've found related the DHS & FEMA do not specifically earmark any of the appropriated funding for the Shelter and Services Program.

So unless someone wants to offer up a source that definitively shows otherwise, I have to assume the funding is fungible between programs and that actual emergency relief funds did go to the manufactured crisis of the border, under the guise that it was an emergency.