WASHINGTON (TNND) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday she has “clawed back” a payment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to hotels housing migrants in New York City.
“I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels,” she posted on social media platform X. “FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to house Laken Riley’s killer.”
Elon Musk announced Monday the Department of Government Efficiency, which is a White House unit, found FEMA sent $59 million last week to house who he called “illegal migrants” in New York City luxury hotels. Four FEMA employees were later fired over the payment.
Jose Ibarra, who was convicted of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, asked for plane tickets to Atlanta at The Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan in 2023, according to The New York Times. New York City has helped arrange travel from places in the city for people seeking asylum.
President Donald Trump, as well as members of his administration, have expressed disagreement with the city’s management of migrants, associating some with criminality. Noem wrote in her social media post to mark her words that “there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people.”
Musk said in his post Monday that a “clawback demand” would be made to recoup the money he referenced.
“Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order. That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!” Musk wrote.
Trump issued an executive order last month which established a policy of pursuing criminal charges against people who facilitate noncitizens’ illegal stay in the U.S.
