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The beaches along the outer banks of North Carolina were strangely empty before the arrival of Hurricane Florence.
USA TODAY & # 39; HUI

This GOES East satellite image taken on Tuesday September 11, 2018 at 10:30 am EDT and provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic Ocean, threatening the east coast of the United States including Florida, Georgia , South and North Carolina. Millions of Americans are preparing for what could be one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the East Coast for decades. Mandatory evacuations begin at noon Tuesday for parts of the Carolinas and Virginia (NOAA via AP)(Photo: AP)

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has taken nearly $ 10 million from the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency this summer to help strengthen US immigration and customs control services, according to budget documents shared with the US TODAY.

The revelation, just before the arrival of Hurricane Florence in North and South Carolina, was discovered by Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Who shared the live material on MSNBC on Tuesday night. .

He told USA TODAY that after the devastating storms of last year, including Hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma, FEMA should have the funds to prepare for another season catastrophic hurricanes.

"It's almost certain that it will happen again, so it's incredibly irresponsible," Merkley said.

The budget document, entitled "Transfer and Reprogramming Notifications of the Department of Homeland Security for the 2018 Fiscal Year," indicates that $ 9,755,303 comes from the FEMA budget, or about 9% of the overall budget of the Department of Homeland Security. # 39; agency.

Funds were also collected by other agencies, including millionsTransport Security Administration and the US Coast Guard, to help ICE, says the document.

The document lists additional funds that have been collected to help ICE detain immigrants along the southern border, fund beds in detention centers and remove undocumented immigrants from the country.

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"The ICE must have sufficient detention capacity to detain illegal aliens when necessary because it enforces the country's immigration laws as equitably and effectively as possible," says the budget document. "To ensure adequate funding for detention beds, an average daily population (ADP) for adult prisoners must be provided, as well as the daily costs of keeping a detainee in detention."

Nearly $ 10 million was raised at various locations within FEMA, including training, preparedness and protection, as well as response and recovery.

Tylet Houlton, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, who oversees both agencies, called critics of the document "a dishonest attempt to push a fake agenda" and said that

"Under no circumstances have disaster relief funds been transferred from @fema to the immigration crackdowns.It is an unfortunate attempt to push a fake program to a time when the administration is trying to help millions on the east coast facing a catastrophic disaster ". said in a tweet. "The money in question – transferred to ICE from FEMA's current operating expenses – could not have been used for the hurricane response due to budget restrictions."

More: Trump calls Puerto Rico's response a "little known success"

Although it is not uncommon for agencies to transfer funds, the FEMA budget was decimated last year due to the barrage of storms and fires that affected the nation and the US. Agency has been heavily criticized for its handling of the disaster in Puerto Rico.

Merkely said he had been informed of FEMA's budget cuts while seeking a solution for the separation of the family and detention centers along the border. He said the document makes it clear that ICE is using FEMA money "to build more detention centers".

Merkely said he thought the reallocation of the budget had occurred in response to the Trump Administration's zero tolerance policy, which was launched earlier this year.

The policy has led to the separation of thousands of families and housing them in detention centers, which he says may have increased the need for more money in the ICE budget.

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests.

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico a year ago was "incredibly successful," even though a recent federal report revealed that nearly 3,000 people were dead. (September 11th)
AP

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