FEMA did not give disaster relief money to New York for luxury hotels for immigrants

Elon Musk said his team at the Department of Government Efficiency, President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting agency, has uncovered illicit activity from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"The @DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants. Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order," Musk said Feb. 10 in an X post. "That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals! A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds."

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made a similar claim after Hurricane Helene hit the southeast U.S. in late September.

"$1 billion was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants," Trump said at the time. We rated that claim Pants on Fire! 

Like Trump’s, Musk’s claim is inaccurate. FEMA did not give money directly to New York hotels; it did give money to New York City. That move was neither illegal nor secretive. It was part of a program that Congress created and funded using money from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is primarily used after natural disasters. The money did not fund luxury hotel rooms for immigrants. 

Here are the facts.

Since Trump’s first administration, FEMA has given money to help state and local governments and nonprofit organizations that provide immigrants with basic services.

In 2019, as illegal immigration increased, Congress gave FEMA funding to expand its Emergency Food and Shelter Program to include migrant support services to immigrants  awaiting court proceedings. The program previously had been used only for people facing homelessness and hunger. 

In 2023, Congress directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FEMA to create the Shelter and Services Program for migrants, removing immigration grants from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The Shelter and Services Program uses money Congress has given Customs and Border Protection, and is administered by FEMA.

In fiscal year 2024, which started October 2023 and ended September 2024, Congress directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to give FEMA $650 million for the Shelter and Services Program. 

Neither program was, or is, funded with money promised to FEMA’s disaster relief work. 

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stated on February 20, 2025 in a Facebook post

Video shows White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Americans can get $4,800 subsidy because Department of Government Efficiency cuts found “extra money.”

"The Disaster Relief Fund has nothing to do with any migrant assistance account because all that spending is from separate funds," Joshua Sewell, a federal budget expert at the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense, told PolitiFact in October 2024.

During Trump’s first administration, he shifted $271 million in FEMA funding, including about $155 million from the Disaster Relief Fund, to address immigration.

Musk did not respond to PolitiFact’s request for evidence that FEMA sent New York City $59 million "last week." 

FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program website shows how much money state and local governments and nonprofit organizations have received from the program. However, the data is only updated through fiscal year 2024. In 2024, New York City’s Office of Management and Budget received $59 million. 

The New York City’s mayor office told The Associated Press Feb. 10 that it received $81 million from the federal government the week of Feb. 3 in two payments — one for $59 million, $19 million of which went to direct hotel costs. The mayor’s office did not respond to our request for comment.

"This morning, my financial team shockingly uncovered that President Trump and his crony Elon Musk illegally executed a revocation of $80 million in congressionally-appropriated FEMA funding from New York City’s bank accounts late yesterday afternoon," Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller said in a statement posted to the agency’s website. "This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing. This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home." 

New York City law requires the government to provide shelter to people who need it. According to a July 2024 comptroller report, the city spent an average of $156 dollars per night per hotel room. 

According to FEMA’s list of allowable expenses for the shelter program, hotel room costs "should be reasonable based on the rate set by the U.S. General Services Administration."

The U.S. General Services Administration sets the per diem rates for New York City hotel rooms at between $179 and $342 per night, depending on the month. Luxury, five-star hotels in New York City cost around $400 to $1,000 a night, according to a search on Expedia, a travel booking site.

Musk said "The @DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants … That money is meant for American disaster relief."

FEMA awarded New York City $59 million in fiscal year 2024. The money is part of a program that Congress approved to reimburse local and state governments and nonprofit organizations that provide basic services to immigrants. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection funds the program and FEMA manages it. None of the money comes from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is primarily used after natural disasters. 

New York City does not house migrants in luxury hotel rooms. In 2024, it spent an average of $156 dollars per night per hotel room, below the General Services Administration’s per diem rate. The city spent $19 million on hotel rooms.

We rate the claim False.