Disaster agency OK, say officials

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials pushed back Wednesday against a Democratic senator’s claim that nearly $10 million from the government’s disaster relief agency was transferred to immigration enforcement.

Sen. Jeff Merkley’s claim, which came as a monster hurricane barreled toward the Carolinas, was branded by Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton as “a sorry attempt to push a false agenda.”

Merkley, of Oregon, said the administration took $9.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “response and recovery” budget and put it in the coffers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He based his claim on a 39-page Department of Homeland Security transferand-reprogramming report dated Aug. 31.

The report shows the money came from FEMA’s “operations and support” budget and was used to pay for ICE expenses such as detention housing, transportation and removals.

DHS officials said the account covers FEMA’s operational expenses and cannot be used for disaster response. They said FEMA came in under budget for expenses such as travel, training and office supplies, so the money was moved to ICE. DHS said the effect on FEMA’s response and recovery account was zero.

Homeland Security is allowed to move money around among its components, which include immigration agencies, disaster management, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service. Money was shuffled among other agencies, also.

According to Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office, Homeland Security notified Congress on June 30 that it would transfer $200 million from other agencies to ICE, including the money from FEMA. Leahy, a Democrat who is the Senate Appropriations Committee vice chairman, said the transfer was approved by the subcommittee chairs and no Democrats signed off on it.