Kelly & Sinema: DHS 'shortchanged' border cities by funding NYC shelters for asylum seekers
'Subverted will' of Congress: Senators criticize spending by FEMA in New York City
Posted Jun 14, 2023, 7:25 pm
Paul Ingram
The Biden administration "shortchanged" communities along the Southwest border and "subverted the will" of Congress by sending millions earmarked for migrant care to New York City, said U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.
Earlier this year, the two Arizona senators —joined by New Mexico and California's senators — moved to secure $800 million for the Shelter and Services Program. Managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the program funds agencies, including charities and local governments to provide shelter, food and transportation for people taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and released while awaiting the outcome of their immigration proceedings.
"Border communities across our states are on the front lines of the border crisis, and we worked hard to secure critical resources to help them increase shelter capacity, emergency services, and transportation to alleviate the strain they face every day," they wrote. "The Biden administration shortchanged border communities when they need support the most."
The program was created by Congress to help CBP manage processing and prevent the overcrowding at the agency's short-term facilities, and aid communities along the borderlands, who "bear the brunt" of releases by border officials. Further, border communities should have received the "bulk of Shelter and Services funding" but so far have "received far less funding than East Coast cities such as New York City."
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/061423_border_funding_sinema/kelly-sinema-dhs-shortchanged-border-cities-by-funding-nyc-shelters-asylum-seekers/
