FEMA Employees Pulled to Support ICE as Hurricane Season Looms

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The immigration crackdown is at the top of President Donald Trump’s agenda, and during this term he has prioritized the needs of ICE over other agencies. One of those affected is FEMA, which is responsible for organizing responses to natural disasters such as hurricanes and, like ICE, operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Dozens of their employees have received notices urging them to leave their positions and join the agency in charge of immigration detention and deportation.

“The Trump administration’s decision to transfer FEMA personnel to ICE as we enter peak hurricane season is a reckless move that puts lives at risk, especially in Latino communities that are disproportionately vulnerable to hurricanes and flooding,” said Elice Rojas-Cruz, managing director of Climate Power En Acción.

The affected officials are part of FEMA’s human resources and security teams, and DHS has ordered them to accept their new positions or face dismissal. Reassigning FEMA officials to other agencies, including ICE, is not new, but it has always been a voluntary option, not mandatory, as is the case now.

A former FEMA administrator under the Joe Biden administration explained in an interview with ABC that the standard practice was to seek authorization from a superior to ensure that operations wouldn’t be negatively impacted during a hurricane season. “My concern is does FEMA have the ability to bring those people back in case you have a major storm that impacts the United States,” Deanne Criswell said.

In response to this newspaper’s request for comment on the measure, DHS sent the official response, attributed to a department spokesperson. “DHS is adopting a comprehensive collaborative strategy to recruit 10,000 new ICE agents. To support this initiative, some FEMA employees will be temporarily assigned to ICE for 90 days to assist with hiring and background checks. Their deployment will NOT disrupt critical FEMA operations.”