A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration can continue efforts to withhold tens of millions of dollars meant to cover hotel costs for migrants in New York City as the Department of Homeland Security said it is "recouping" a $59 million payment.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island ruled that the government's bid to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency money sent to New York to house migrants was not subject to an order, still in effect, that's aimed at preventing a sweeping Trump administration pause on federal funding.
“Because the Defendants are seeking to terminate funding ‘on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,’” McConnell said, he “sees no need for further clarification.” He denied a motion for an emergency hearing on the issue and affirmed a temporary restraining order preventing the funding freeze.
“Secretary Noem has clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "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. There will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people.”
The Laken Riley Act, named after the Georgia nursing student murdered last year, would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
On Monday, Elon Musk, the head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, posted on X that his team had discovered payments used to house migrants in “luxury hotels” with money intended for disaster relief. Musk and DOGE have consolidated control over much of the federal government and are working to cut costs and shrink the workforce.
On Tuesday, four federal employees were fired, with Department of Homeland Security officials saying they circumvented leadership to make the transactions. Such payments have been standard for years through a program that helps with costs to care for a surge in migration.
FEMA’s acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, said in court documents filed Tuesday that the Republican administration yanked funding from the Shelter and Services Program because of concerns the money was “facilitating illegal activities” at a Manhattan hotel used to house migrants.
"[President Trump is] here for a reason, and he is focused every day on implementing his administration's goals and sending 59 million bucks to a migrant hotel to house illegal immigrants when there are still people in North Carolina and California who have not received FEMA funding," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Wednesday.
New York started leasing the Roosevelt Hotel as an intake center for homeless migrants seeking city services in 2023, after it closed in the fall of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under city law, New York must offer shelter to anyone who needs it, and at the time the regular homeless shelter system was overwhelmed with new arrivals. The hotel now serves as both a place where migrants must go to apply for services and as a temporary shelter for hundreds of families who can stay for only 60 days.
Hamilton said that the federal government can pause or end payments if recipients don’t abide by the terms and that FEMA is reaching out to New York to get more information and “ensure that federal funds are not being used for illegal activities.”
The Shelter and Services Program, with money coming from Congress and administered by FEMA, has become a flashpoint for criticism by Republicans, who incorrectly claim it’s taking funds from people hit by hurricanes or floods.
