CLIMATEWIRE | The Trump administration is reviewing “all disaster relief programs that may indirectly or incidentally aid illegal aliens,” according to an internal memo that raises the prospect of shutting off government aid to millions of people during extreme weather events.
The two-page memo sent to senior officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its 10 regional offices on Feb. 14 also orders the agency to review nongovernmental organizations that “provide assistance” to undocumented immigrants. That could include groups like the American Red Cross that offer food, shelter and medical care to disaster survivors regardless of their immigration status.
The review, which has not been previously reported, has alarmed advocacy groups that work with the roughly 11 million undocumented migrants within the U.S. who could be barred from disaster shelters during deadly hurricanes, wildfires or floods.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
“This review shall include identification of those programs and potential policy changes,” said the memo by FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton.
Potential aid restrictions could deter millions of people who are in the country legally from going to disaster shelters because they fear being targeted by immigration enforcement officers, some advocates said. Those concerns were raised as President Donald Trump attempts to deport two legal immigrants.
“This is horrifying,” said Madison Sloan, director of disaster recovery at Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit that promotes social, economic and racial justice. “Historically, FEMA has provided life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to disaster victims regardless of their immigration status, and that’s the way it should be.”
FEMA did not respond to requests for comment.
The memo, which FEMA disclosed in a court filing, appears to be so expansive that it could affect programs that were created to help individuals who have evacuated their homes, along with communities that face huge cleanup and rebuilding costs after disasters.
“What are we going to do? Tell people that they’re not going to be allowed in the FEMA shelter because they’re not a U.S. citizen?” said Michael Coen, the FEMA chief of staff in the Biden administration.
“That should be the last thing you’re thinking about when you’re trying to save lives,” he added.
Hamilton’s brief description of the review — outlined in two sentences within the memo — does not identify the programs that are being scrutinized for helping undocumented migrants.
The phrasing is so broad that it could potentially apply to FEMA funding that’s used to rebuild roads, schools and parks.
“If you’re repairing infrastructure to a community that has a large population of undocumented immigrants, that would be indirectly assisting them,” said Noah Patton, manager of disaster recovery for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Project 2025, the conservative policy manifesto that has guided the Trump administration, said FEMA grants to states, localities and private groups should go only to “recipients who are lawful actors, can demonstrate that they are in compliance with federal law, and can show that their mission and actions support the broader homeland security mission.”
Immigrants, including those who are in the U.S. legally, have long been reluctant to seek disaster aid from FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, because they worry about immigration enforcement, Sloan and others said.
Hamilton ordered the review days after the administration revoked $80 million it had given New York City for sheltering undocumented migrants who had been released from federal custody after entering the U.S. illegally.
Although the money came from a special fund created by Congress in 2023 — and not from FEMA’s disaster fund — the Trump administration tried to generate an uproar by questioning the legality of the spending and falsely claiming that New York City officials used it to house migrants in “luxury hotels.”
In fact, the migrants stayed temporarily in a hotel that was converted years ago to a shelter, which Trump officials said was being run by a dangerous Venezuelan street gang.
Risks to Red Cross
Former FEMA officials and disaster experts said the review could target billions of dollars the agency gives to households each year for emergency costs related to hotel rooms, minor home repairs and basic supplies. The money is separate from emergency services that FEMA provides to survivors immediately after a disaster including shelters, health care, and food and water.
FEMA disaster aid is available only to people who can show they are U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or certain types of noncitizen residents. Individuals who don’t meet those criteria can receive FEMA aid if they are parents of a child who is eligible under longstanding FEMA policy.
“If a family has a citizen child, the family can get assistance,” said Patton, adding that such funding would likely meet the review’s standard of “indirectly or incidentally” helping undocumented migrants.
“I would definitely be worried about the emergency response programs that are going to be impacted by this,” Patton said.
Since 2002, FEMA has given a total of $38 billion in disaster aid to nearly 12 million households, according to an analysis of agency records by POLITICO’s E&E News.
FEMA established citizenship and residency requirements after former President Bill Clinton signed a major law overhauling the nation’s welfare programs. The Welfare Reform Act generally barred “nonqualified aliens” from receiving a broad range of benefits.
FEMA’s review could threaten activities by the Red Cross, a federally chartered aid group that has an agreement with FEMA to provide emergency services such as shelter, food and supplies. The agreement notes that “the Red Cross provides services to those in need regardless of citizenship, race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or political affiliation.”
The Red Cross and other nonprofits that provide disaster aid “have historically resisted any attempt to get that information from them,” Patton said, referring to survivors’ immigration status.
“Any move around those programs to institute some sort of citizenship requirement or even an attempt to access information on who doesn’t have documented status would have a significant chilling effect for immigration communities,” Patton added.
Sloan of Texas Appleseed said the Red Cross “has decades of experience in responding to disasters and local relationships and a level of trust because they are a nonprofit. You would lose all of that.”
The Red Cross did not respond to requests for comment.
Hamilton, the FEMA leader, initiated the review through a memo explaining an order by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who in late January put a hold on FEMA nonprofit grants that “touch in any way on immigration.”
Hamilton added his own conditions, including the review of all disaster programs that “may indirectly or incidentally” benefit undocumented migrants or nonprofits that help them.
Hamilton wrote that his memo “is necessary” to comply with Noem’s directive and to ensure FEMA “can continue to support the communities and disaster survivors who rely on us for assistance.”
Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.
