No FEMA Disaster Money for Racist Immigrant Detention Plan
Statement of Stephanie Thomas, Researcher and Community Organizer, Public Citizen’s Houston Office
Note: On Aug. 27, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it will move $271 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other entities to increase immigrant detention efforts along the border. This news emerges as communities in Puerto Rico and Florida brace for the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian. Meanwhile, Houston still is struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
President Donald Trump believes there is an immigrant crisis in Texas. In truth, we face a climate crisis. Hurricane Harvey caused $125 billion in damage to Houston, and FEMA has contributed little to our recovery. We don’t want federal dollars to further a racist political agenda. If Trump wants to help Texans, he should stop inventing border crises, fund FEMA and help us plan for the real threat of climate catastrophe.
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