Fox host is still falsely suggesting that relief money to victims of Hurricane Helene has been limited by spending on migrants

Disaster relief money is not tied to government spending on immigration

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt is continuing to push the false right-wing narrative that disaster relief for those affected by devastating flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene is being diverted or lessened because of spending on migrants. 

On the October 7 episode of Outnumbered, Earhardt said while discussing damages caused by the hurricane, “They spent 1.4 billion on migrants, they gave 30 million to the North Carolina area.” 

FEMA has pushed back against this misleading claim on its website, stressing that “Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”

Right-wing media have repeatedly and falsely claimed in the aftermath of the storm that FEMA is spending money on migrants that would otherwise go to disaster relief, but that claim was debunked by a Homeland Security spokesperson, who noted, “The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA's disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”

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From the October 7, 2024, edition of Fox News' Outnumbered