President Donald Trump’s administration cut nearly $10 million out of FEMA’s budget in order to fund ICE’s immigration detention centers, according a budget document obtained by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and disclosed on Tuesday night’s edition of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.

#BREAKING: Here is the report @SenJeffMerkley obtained detailing the transfer of nearly $10 million from FEMA to help support ICE just ahead of hurricane season. He says the millions will help beef up detention centers. https://t.co/8Dsj52h0Cp — Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) September 12, 2018

As Maddow reported, Merkley’s staff believes these Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) transfers were made earlier this summer, right before the start of hurricane season.

BREAKING: Dept. of Homeland Security requested $9.8M out of FEMA budget to fund ICE detention and deportation programs for immigrants, according to document obtained by Sen. Jeff Merkley. pic.twitter.com/bWxIdcV4xx — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 12, 2018

Merkley, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, acquired the previously undisclosed document, which shows $9.8 million was diverted from FEMA to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pay for more “detention beds” and “ICE’s transportation and removal program.”


Maddow said a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not dispute the authenticity of the document when contacted about it, but said the money had not come from the agency’s “disaster and recovery response efforts.”

Merkley disputed that claim in an appearance with Maddow on Tuesday, noting the budget document he obtained shows $9.8 million was transferred to ICE from FEMA’s response and recovery budget.

Contrary to the statement DHS gave to us, the document appears to show that millions of dollars did indeed come from FEMA's response and recovery budget to fund added ICE detentions. pic.twitter.com/vqxhRyK38C — Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) September 12, 2018

Merkley also disclosed that the Trump administration is planning on creating “family internment camps” for immigrants.

Senator Merkley: Trump admin planning internment camps for detained immigrant families. pic.twitter.com/VHsVY5kH97 — Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) September 12, 2018

As ThinkProgress reported earlier today, over 400 migrant children remain apart from their families months after Trump announced he was ending his policy that separated parents from their children at the border.

Hurricane Florence is currently bearing down on the Atlantic Coast of the United States and estimates suggest it will have an adverse impact on the states of North and South Carolina. The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall Friday morning. In a notice issued by the National Hurricane Service on Monday morning, the agency warned, “There is an increasing risk of life-threatening impacts from Florence: Storm surge at the coast, freshwater flooding from a prolonged and exceptionally heavy rainfall event inland and damaging hurricane-force winds.”