Elon Musk Claims FEMA Allocated $60 Million for Undocumented Immigrants' Stay in Luxury Hotels Last Week

Elon Musk revealed on Monday that his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) team uncovered that FEMA disbursed nearly $60 million to accommodate undocumented immigrants in upscale hotels in New York City the previous week.

In response, acting FEMA Director Cameron Hamilton announced that the disbursements had been halted and the staff responsible would face repercussions.

"The DOGE team has just uncovered that FEMA disbursed $59 million last week to luxury hotels in NYC for housing undocumented migrants," Musk posted on X early Monday. "This use of funds was illegal and directly defies the executive order by the President."

"These funds are designated for American disaster relief, yet they're being used for luxury accommodations for undocumented individuals! We will demand the return of these funds today," Musk further stated.

Musk's revelation followed an investigation into FEMA, which DOGE began over the weekend. On Sunday, Musk took to his social media to declare that "FEMA is malfunctioning."

Hamilton, previously a Navy SEAL, was appointed by President Donald Trump last month to temporarily lead FEMA.

"I appreciate the DOGE team's vigilance in bringing this to my attention. As of yesterday, all such payments from FEMA have been stopped, and accountability measures will be taken," Hamilton stated.

He criticized Congress for passing laws in 2023 and 2024 that allowed FEMA to manage housing programs for undocumented immigrants, pointing out that the program has cost over $1.4 billion since late 2022.

During his campaign, President Trump criticized FEMA's programs for housing undocumented immigrants, arguing that hurricane victims were being overlooked while migrants received complimentary accommodations.

Trump issued an executive order on January 24 to form a council to evaluate FEMA's operations and programs.

"There are substantial worries about political bias within FEMA. Notably, one former FEMA responder has claimed that she was instructed to bypass homes of Trump supporters," the executive order stated. "FEMA has lost sight of its mission, diverting scarce resources to tasks outside its mandate, spending well over a billion dollars on initiatives to assist undocumented immigrants."

Apart from Trump's council, several investigations into FEMA's operations have been initiated following reports by The Daily Wire that a Florida supervisor instructed relief workers to "avoid homes advertising Trump."