Trump officials defend the decision to send FEMA funds to ICE before Hurricane Dorian

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Trump administration officials said Sunday that the transfer of $ 155 million from the disaster relief fund of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and to The application of customs rules would not affect the federal government's ability to cope with Hurricane Dorian, a massive storm headed for the east coast of the country.

As NBC News reported last week, the Department of Homeland Security informed Congress in July that to increase funding for refugee claimant hearings, FEMA would transfer $ 155 million to ICE.

In an interview with "This Week" on ABC, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan said, "No money has been transferred yet."

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Hurricane Dorian

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This Thursday August 29, 2019, an image provided by NASA shows a view of Hurricane Dorian from the International Space Station while it was devastating the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico. Happily, with little damage to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Hurricane Dorian turned to the United States, with forecasters warning him that he would draw energy from the warm, clear waters that he would come closer. (NASA via AP)

Stores do not have bottled water while residents purchase supplies in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian in Doral, Florida on Thursday, July 29, 2019. The US National Hurricane Center says Dorian could hit the coast of Florida this weekend as a major hurricane. (AP Photo / Marcus Lim)

Buyers are preparing for Hurricane Dorian at Home Depot on Thursday, August 29, 2019 in Pembroke Pines, Florida. (AP Photo / Brynn Anderson)

On the empty shelves Costco is marked with a sign indicating that the retailer is currently empty of water before Hurricane Dorian on Thursday August 29, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (AP Photo / Brynn Anderson)

On the left, National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham watches Florida Governor Ron DeSantis talk about Tropical Storm Dorian in front of the National Hurricane Center on Thursday, August 29, 2019 in Miami. (AP Photo / Lynne Sladky)

This GOES-16 satellite image taken on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 14:20 UTC and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Dorian, right, moving over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The US National Hurricane Center said Dorian would become a potentially devastating Category 3 hurricane before hitting the American continent late Sunday or early Monday between somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia. (NOAA via AP)

Customers wait in long queues at Costco on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, in Davie, Florida, while they're catering before Hurricane Dorian. (AP Photo / Brynn Anderson)

MIAMI BEACH, FL – AUGUST 30: People walk toward their boat through a flooded parking lot at the Haulover Marine Center before the arrival of Hurricane Dorian on August 30, 2019 in Miami Beach, Florida. The rising tide was at the origin of the high tide, which could cause additional problems, as Hurricane Dorian arrives in the region in the form of a possible Category 4 storm along the coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Miami Beach, Florida – August 30: Weston Rice passes through a flooded parking lot as he prepares to throw his jet ski into the water at the Haulover Marine Center before the arrival of the boat. Hurricane Dorian on August 30, 2019 in Miami Beach, Florida. The rising tide was at the origin of the high tide, which could cause additional problems, as Hurricane Dorian arrives in the region in the form of a possible Category 4 storm along the coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

"No potential transfer will affect our ability to respond to this storm or any other storm for the remainder of the hurricane season," he said. "The Disaster Recovery Fund has two different components: The Major Disaster Fund contains $ 25 billion, so a $ 155 million transfer from the core fund will not affect our ability to respond and recover from a major disaster. . "

McAleenan said his agency "needed this funding for immigration and customs control in order to respond to the ongoing humanitarian and border security crisis at the border."

"The Congress has not seen fit to provide this funding," he added. "We must therefore examine the ministerial sources with limited impact, but also supporting the ongoing management of this crisis."

Pete Gaynor, acting administrator of FEMA, told "Fox News Sunday" that the agency had "a lot of money and resources to deal with the disasters and recoveries of 2017 and 2018 and to include a response in 2019, this season ".

"We live with risks every day," he said, adding that "we estimate that $ 155 million is a low risk and does not affect our readiness for Dorian."

Dorian strengthened Sunday's position against a "catastrophic" Category 5 storm as it approached the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center announced. Michael Lowry, a strategic planner with FEMA, tweeted the storm is now one of the seven strongest ever recorded, dating back to the 1850s. Forecasters have said that the storm should approach Florida but touch Georgia and the Carolinas.

Speaking to reporters outside Marine One on Sunday, Trump said the storm "seems to be bigger than ever.

"That's the problem," said Trump. "We do not know where he's going to hit, he seems to be going to Florida, now he should go to Georgia, in the Carolinas.Alabama should be a little bit weaker.You will probably learn more during the course of the next 24 hours . "

The reason why Trump referred to Alabama, which is not in the expected trajectory of the hurricane, was unclear.

"In addition to Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama will most likely be (much) hit harder than expected," said Trump. tweeted earlier Sunday. "It looks like one of the biggest hurricanes of all time, already category 5. BE CAREFUL, GOD BLESS TO EVERYONE!"

Expressing with CBS's "Face the Nation", the former representative of Beto O. Rourke, D-Texas and Democratic presidential candidate of 2020, said "really disappointed" that Trump proposed to take money at FEMA in the middle of the hurricane season. or cages or militarization of the border we do not need. "

"As president, I would fully fund FEMA," he said. "I would invest in the resilience of the communities of Florida and Georgia, the Carolinas and Puerto Rico to make sure that they are ready for the next storm because scientists have told us that these storms will only become more frequent, more devastating and more deadly as the climate continues to change. "

Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., Spoke of a correlation between climate change and more violent hurricanes.

"Well, first of all, we know that the climate is changing and then we know that our storms seem to be worsening," Scott said, adding, "We do not know what is the cause, but we must react to it. "

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