President Donald Trump talks to reporters before departing to tour hurricane damage in Florida, in Washington, D.C., October 15, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The Department of Homeland Security plans to divert $271 million in emergency funds to detain and deport illegal immigrants, the agency announced Tuesday.

The emergency funds, $155 million of which will come out of FEMA’s disaster-relief pot, will go towards providing more ICE detention beds and covering other costs related to the detention of illegal immigrants.


“Without additional funding for single adult detention beds and transportation from the U.S. Border Patrol to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] detention facilities, ICE will not be able to support the influx of migrants from U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehensions,” DHS said in a statement on Tuesday.

The diversion comes roughly two months after Congress refused to fund additional ICE detention beds as part of a $4.6 billion emergency funding package designed to address the migrant crisis at the southern border.

Congressional Democrats have objected to the administration’s unilateral reallocation of funds, arguing that the executive branch is encroaching on Congress’s power of the purse.


“Once again, DHS has ignored the negotiated agreement with Congress by vastly exceeding the amount appropriated for immigration enforcement and removal operations,” said Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D., Calif.), the Homeland Security Subcommittee chairwoman.

DHS plans to use the funds to add nearly 7,000 ICE detention beds, which will allow the agency to detain more migrants while their asylum claims are being adjudicated, rather than releasing them in the hope that they will return for their hearings.


Critics have also pointed out that the move will detract from FEMA’s resources just as the hurricane season is beginning. Tropical storm Dorian was approaching Puerto Rico as the announcement was made.

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