FEMA launches review of migrant shelter aid, suggesting smuggling laws were violated
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 00:12 EDT, 13 March 2025 | Updated: 00:12 EDT, 13 March 2025
McALLEN, Texas (AP) - The Trump administration has launched a review of organizations that provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants, suggesting they may have violated a law used to prosecute smugglers.
The Department of Homeland Security has "significant concerns" that federal grants used to address a surge of migration under former President Joe Biden were used for illegal activities, wrote Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
His letter, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, asks recipients of grants from FEMA´s Shelter and Services Program to provide names and contact information for migrants served and "a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided" within 30 days. The letter says funding will be withheld during the review.
While it doesn't explicitly threaten criminal prosecution, it raises concerns that recipients may have violated U.S. Criminal Code Section 1324, a felony offense against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States. It also says executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling law.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-14493369/FEMA-launches-review-migrant-shelter-aid-suggesting-smuggling-laws-violated.html
