The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Feb. 11 that it had fired Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Chief Financial Officer Mary Comans and three other employees.
DHS said the officials were responsible for authorizing a recent $59 million payment to fund the housing of illegal immigrants in luxury hotels in New York City.
“Firings include FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts, and a grant specialist.
“Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”
He also said that individual states should handle storms and other disasters.
“FEMA spent tens of millions of dollars in Democrat areas, disobeying orders, but left the people of North Carolina high and dry,” Trump wrote. “It is now under review and investigation.”
The nearly $60 million payment was discovered by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Part of $81 million
The New York City mayor’s office said it received a total of $81 million last week in federal government payments to house illegal immigrants, according to The Associated Press. That total was provided in two transfers, one of which was valued at about $59 million.New York City spokesperson Liz Garcia said that the $81 million covered reimbursements for hotel, security, food, and other costs running from November 2023 to October 2024. The city applied in April 2024 for that money, which was appropriated by Congress and allocated by FEMA.
New York City has right-to-shelter laws requiring the city to provide shelter to the homeless, and it has a history of housing the homeless in hotels. The city is currently sheltering 46,000 illegal immigrants, most of whom are families.
Garcia said that the city has millions in outstanding reimbursements, and the city released a statement saying it planned to discuss the matter directly with federal officials.
Hamilton said that Congress should never have passed the legislation in 2023 and 2024 that asked FEMA to do that type of work. He said that all of those payments from FEMA were suspended as of Feb. 9.
“This stops now,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, said she welcomes DOGE’s audits of her agency’s data and supports a complete overhaul of emergency management.
“I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today. We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters,” she said in a Feb. 9 interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
FEMA’s performance in providing disaster relief has been criticized for nearly a year, especially regarding its role in western North Carolina and Florida areas heavily affected by Hurricane Helene.
Along with diverting funds from U.S. citizens toward illegal immigrants, the agency has been accused of harboring political bias.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 24 after visiting the affected areas of North Carolina. He called for the creation of a council to review FEMA.
“And it has lost mission focus, diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens.”
Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced an investigation of the matter, calling the alleged acts “reprehensible” and “a clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”
However, that supervisor, Marn’i Washington, said in interviews that she was a “scapegoat” and that similar actions occurred across areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
While speaking to reporters in North Carolina, the president also hinted at possibly getting rid of FEMA amid the reform attempts.
“Americans deserve an immediate, effective, and impartial response to and recovery from disasters,” he said in his order.
