Mayor Eric Adams to meet with border czar as FEMA pulls funds for housing migrants in New York City
NEW YORK (WABC) -- All eyes are on Mayor Eric Adams as FEMA has pulled millions of dollars in funds for housing migrants.
His critics are calling on him to do something and prove himself in light of optics that he has cozied up to President Donald Trump after the Justice Department instructed prosecutors to dismiss his bribery case.
It comes as he is set to meet on Thursday with Border Czar Tom Homan about removing migrants in New York City.
On Wednesday, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said that the Trump administration illegally revoked $80 million in FEMA funds from New York City bank accounts.
The city received a check last week from FEMA's Shelter and Services Program, which was authorized by Congress in 2023. On Wednesday morning, Lander said his office discovered the money had disappeared.
"This morning, my financial team shockingly uncovered that President Trump and his crony Elon Musk illegally executed a revocation of $80 million in congressionally-appropriated FEMA funding from New York City's bank accounts late yesterday afternoon. This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing.," Lander said. "This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home."
Mayor Eric Adams has previously said he will not publicly question the Trump administration, instead opting to bring up concerns in private.
The mayor's office said they have requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to resolve the apparent misunderstanding but the Corporation Counsel is "already exploring various litigation options."
He also said he will discuss the $80 million claw back of FEMA funding during his meeting Thursday with Homan.
But Lander is calling on Mayor Adams to sue.
"New York City cannot take this lying down. I call on the mayor to immediately pursue legal action to ensure the tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE are rightfully returned," Lander said.
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.
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.
(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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