The Trump administration is reportedly pulling over $200 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to pay for temporary detention space and hearing locations for asylum applicants waiting in Mexico. NBC News reports that $271 million is being pulled from DHS, including $155 million from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. In a letter to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), officials reportedly said the $155 million will go to ICE to fund temporary asylum hearing locations along the border. Approximately $116 million meant for Coast Guard operations, aviation security, and other purposes will reportedly be used to pay for almost 6,800 beds for migrants. A DHS official said the transfer of money to ICE would begin immediately and would fund the agency through Sept. 30. The extraction of funds from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund comes as the peak of hurricane and tropical storm season approaches.
