The Federal Emergency Management Agency funds that were allocated to New York City for shelters for migrants and other services have been returned by a federal judge.
On Wednesday, Manhattan Judge Jennifer Rearden refused to grant New York City an interim restraining order to claw back the funds because it could not show that the city would suffer irreparable damage without the money.
A spokesperson for the New York City Law Department said that they were disappointed with the decision of the court not to grant emergency relief while the case was still ongoing. They are now evaluating their next steps.
On February 21, the City of New York sued Trump, FEMA, and the DHS Department of Homeland Security, saying that the $80m had already been approved by FEMA and was paid.
In an X-post the day after the lawsuit, Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) said, “This morning our office found out that the federal government is clawing back over $80,000,000 in FEMA grant money awarded and applied for under the previous administration but never disbursed.”
In the lawsuit, it was stated that the funds had been withdrawn on February 11, after Elon Musk claimed the Department of Government Efficiency discovered a $59,000,000 FEMA payment made to New York City to pay for hotels that were used as a base of operations by illegal migrants. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated that she had revoked the funds due to concerns that the Roosevelt Hotel was the “Tren de Aragua Base of Operations.”
“I have clawed back all of the money that FEMA activists in the deep state gave unilaterally to NYC migrant hotel. FEMA funded the Roosevelt Hotel, which is a Tren de Aragua headquarters and where Laken Riley was murdered. Noem stated in an X message that “not a penny will be spent against the safety and interest of the American public.”
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander – a candidate for Adams’ mayoral seat – said that the Trump Administration “stole the funds”.
Let’s make it clear that Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Kristi Nuem acted illegally when they took $80,000,000 from the Bank of New York City. Seizing our Congressionally authorized, FEMA-approved money was nothing more than attempted retribution against immigrants seeking asylum, many of them sent here on buses by Governor Abbott from Texas. Like all of Trump’s illegal efforts to freeze and seize Congressionally-authorized funds, this action harmed taxpayers and working families and would force the City to cut services if not reversed,” Lander said in a statement following the ruling on Wednesday.
Adams, along with other Democratic “sanctuary cities” mayors on Capitol Hill, testified on Wednesday about the response they had taken to the current migrant crisis.
Adams testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that New York City could continue to be a sanctuary for crime reduction, despite being a sanctuary.
To be clear, a sanctuary city designation does not mean that our city is destined to be a haven of safety for violent criminals. New York City is not given the right to break federal immigration laws. New York City, on the other hand, will continue to comply with all city, federal, state, and local laws.
Adams vowed that he would protect New York City residents who are law-abiding, irrespective of their immigration status. He also instructed NYPD officers to follow DHS and ICE. Adams’ comments are part of his effort to find a compromise between protecting New Yorkers while also coordinating the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Adams criticized former president Joe Biden for his handling of the crisis as New York City battled to cope with busloads and busloads of migrants flooding the overcrowded shelters in the city.
Adams, who is fighting the migration crisis with Trump, has built a rapport with him. He held a meeting in West Palm Beach in Florida and met with Tom Homan, the border czar, to discuss it in New York City.
Homan said he would hold Adams to his commitments, stating, “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'”
