Donald Trump raised a new theory about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris intentionally using FEMA money for illegal immigrants.
The former president surveyed the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday.
During his statements to the press, he harshly criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or its poor work in dealing with the consequences of the storm.
“Our FEMA, when we had a problem, we had record rescues,” Trump boasted. “The work that FEMA did under the Trump administration was truly incredible.”
He then attacked the controversial FEMA fund to help non-U.S. citizens, repeating a hot new conspiracy that Biden and Harris could be using that money to bring immigrants to the country and secure their vote for Democrats.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump discusses relief efforts with local leaders during a tour of the devastation from Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on October 21, 2024.
During the Biden and Harris administration, FEMA “spent hundreds of millions of dollars doing other people’s things,” Trump told the crowd at the hurricane-damaged site.
“Things that I don’t think have any relation to this money,” he said.
The former president was apparently referring to FEMA’s non-citizen-only Shelter and Services Program (SSP).
Over the past two years, FEMA has received more than $1 billion from taxpayers to specifically support illegal immigrants with housing and humanitarian services through this program.
It was created to provide shelter to non-citizens and its budget nearly doubled. from $363.8 million in 2023 to $650 million in 2024.
Additionally, $780 million in FEMA funding The Emergency Food and Shelter Program is allocated to non-citizens starting in 2022.
‘“They weren’t supposed to spend the money taking in illegal immigrants,” Trump said before saying that “maybe” the immigrants were given money “so they could vote in elections.”‘
Trump said that “maybe” immigrants will receive FEMA funds “so they can vote in the elections”
Debris from Hurricane Helene piles up on land owned by the city of Asheville
Signs are seen at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at AC Reynolds High School in Asheville.
“Because that’s why a lot of people say they’re doing it,” Trump qualified his speculative response.
“I don’t know,” the Republican continued. “I hope that’s not what they’re doing.”
However, neither Trump nor his campaign have offered any evidence to support the new theory.
On the heels of historic Hurricane Helene, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that FEMA may not have the money to survive the storm season.
FEMA SSP allocated more than $1 billion to shelter and support noncitizens starting in 2022
Migrants from Nepal, India and Bangladesh wait to be picked up by Border Patrol after crossing illegally into the United States.
This outraged Americans living without water or electricity in affected neighborhoods such as Asheville.
More than 150,000 American citizens have applied for federal assistance after their homes were damaged by Hurricane Helene and many have expressed frustration with recovering after the storm.
The money allocated to FEMA’s SSP fund, in particular, was approved by Congress, which is partially controlled by Republicans.
FEMA ‘wasted their money on illegal immigrants!’ Trump stated later that same day before a crowd in Greenville, North Carolina, receiving boos in response.
“They had no money left for North Carolina.”