The Biden-Harris administration announced on Wednesday that its handing out hundreds of millions in more funding to local and state governments dealing with the illegal immigration crisis.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is handing out more than $380 million through FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP) to communities across the country that are providing shelter, care and other services to illegal migrants and other foreign nationals that have recently been released from federal custody, the department announced in a press release. The additional allocation highlights the sheer amount of money the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to spend on migrants, despite a recent decline in unlawful border crossings.
“Through the SSP, DHS directly supports communities that are providing critical support such as food, shelter, clothing, acute medical care, and transportation to noncitizens recently released from DHS custody and awaiting their immigration court proceedings,” DHS stated.
“FEMA, in coordination with [Customs and Border Protection], is administering these SSP grants with state, local and tribal governments as well as nongovernmental organizations to help prevent the overcrowding of short-term CBP holding facilities,” the DHS statement continued.
The funding announced this week augments the nearly $260 million in SSP grants distributed in April 2024, according to DHS. The Biden-Harris administration awarded over $780 million through SSP and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program in fiscal year 2023 to various organizations and cities across the United States.
DHS also touted a “significant decline” in migrant encounters since President Joe Biden issued an executive order in June that cracks down on illegal border crossings. Border Patrol encounters in July dropped 32% from the previous month, marking the lowest monthly total along the U.S.-Mexico border since September 2020, according to DHS.
However, the announcement of additional funding to communities dealing with an influx of migrants in need of care highlights how the border crisis is still ongoing — even in cities thousands of miles away from the Mexico border.
“Massachusetts urgently needs federal support as we work to meet unprecedented demand on our family shelter system as a result of a surge in immigrant families arriving in our state,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey stated in a Wednesday press release.
The state is receiving more than $20 million in SSP grants — its largest award from the program to date, according to the governor. Massachusetts has been forced to scale back its shelter services due to the sheer influx and financial burden, and many migrants have been sleeping outside after funding for shelter services ran out.
“We’re grateful to the Biden-Harris administration and FEMA for this $20 million award and to the City of Boston and our Congressional delegation for their partnership and support,” Healey continued on Wednesday.
Other major cities far away from the U.S.-Mexico border have spent large sums of money to deal with illegal migrants within their jurisdictions. New York City spent roughly $1.5 billion helping migrants, Chicago has reportedly spent more than $400 million and Denver has dolled out tens of millions.
Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 7 million migrants attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, according to the latest CBP data.
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