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This week, New York City officials said the city had received two payments from the federal government as reimbursement for expenses the city incurred while providing services to migrants who arrived in New York, including $19 million for hotel expenses. But Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, claimed, without evidence, that $59 million “meant for American disaster relief” was sent to “luxury hotels.”
Musk’s claims, posted on X, the social media platform he owns, echoed false claims made by President Donald Trump and others last year that Federal Emergency Management Agency money for hurricane relief had been used to house people in the country illegally. As we reported then, Congress had appropriated money for the Department of Homeland Security’s Shelter and Services Program, which awards money to nonfederal entities to provide housing and other services for migrants awaiting an immigration hearing. FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is funded by Congress separately.
But in an early morning post on Feb. 10, Musk wrote, “The @DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” His post went on to say, “That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!”
The White House has not provided evidence that the funds were originally “meant for American disaster relief,” as Musk said. The White House press office did not respond to our inquiry about this.
The Associated Press and the New York Times reported that the money that FEMA paid to the city — not directly to hotels — came from the Shelter and Services Program. The money for that program comes from the budget for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and FEMA and CBP, both DHS agencies, coordinate to administer the grants.
However, a DHS official previously told reporters that the money is “completely separate” from funding that Congress allocates to FEMA to help U.S. residents affected by natural disasters.
In addition, a city spokesperson, Liz Garcia, told the AP that only some of the $59 million was for hotel costs.
She said that the mayor’s office recently received two payments from the federal government totaling about $81 million for immigration-related services. One of the payments was for roughly $59 million, of which $19 million was for hotel stays, as the city has had to accommodate more than 200,000 migrants who arrived there since the spring of 2022.
“The payments of $81 million, Garcia said, covered reimbursements for November 2023 to October 2024, including hotel, security, food, and other costs,” the AP reported. “She said the city applied in April, the money was appropriated last year by Congress, and FEMA allocated it last year.”
Garcia also told the AP that the city did not pay “luxury” rates for the hotels.
A July report from the New York City Comptroller’s Office said that during fiscal year 2024, the city spent an average of $156 per night on hotel rooms for migrants. That average rate, negotiated with the Hotel Association of New York City, was “$1.50 more expensive than the market economy rate, and $27 less expensive than the upscale rate,” the report said. Most of the hotels were in city boroughs outside of Manhattan.
We contacted the city about the payments, but have not received a response. FEMA also did not answer our specific questions about the funds, but a DHS spokesperson emailed us a statement saying that DHS has “clawed back the full payment” from the city and fired four FEMA employees responsible for making the payments.
In a statement posted on Feb. 12, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called the revocation of over $80 million in congressionally appropriated funds illegal, and advised Eric Adams, the city’s mayor, to pursue legal action.
“This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing,” he said. “This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.”
Adams said in a Feb. 12 post on X that his office had already been in contact with the White House about recouping the money.
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