The Trump administration is imposing new conditions on federally-funded volunteer groups in a move that critics fear will prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving life-saving aid.
Aid groups must agree that they will not “operate any program that benefits illegal immigrants or incentivizes illegal immigration” as a condition of receiving government support, according to Homeland Security contracts reviewed by The Washington Post.
According to those documents, disaster relief could be choked off from states and volunteer-supported groups if the administration believes they are “harboring, concealing, or shielding” undocumented people from the government, echoing the Trump administration’s wider anti-immigration agenda.
Critics fear the conditions could create a “chilling effect” that prevents vulnerable people from seeking relief if they fear they could be arrested and removed from the country if their immigration status is questioned in the middle of a disaster.
The new conditions follow a drastic overhaul at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where dozens of current and former officials and employees have warned that the Trump’s administration is jeopardizing the nation’s ability to respond to disasters and undoing more than two decades of progress after immense failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Funds are typically first awarded to states, which then contract aid groups.
According to the DHS documents reviewed by The Washington Post, award recipients must make all contractors and sub-recipients follow the same terms.
Critics have questioned the constitutionality of the new language, as some state and local laws prevent asking about a person’s immigration status, while faith-based aid groups that partner with states, like the Salvation Army and Red Cross — groups that are often on the frontlines of disaster areas — serve anyone regardless of their need, nationality or faith.
That could imperil the ability of local governments and aid groups to provide food, housing, mental health support and other assistance in disaster areas if they must first prove an applicants’ immigration status.
Scott Robinson, an emergency management expert at Arizona State University, told The Washington Post that there is no historical precedent for requiring disaster victims to prove their legal status before receiving assistance.
“The notion that the federal government would use these operations for surveillance is entirely new territory,” he said.
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster — a large umbrella group for nonprofit, volunteer-supported aid groups — told The Independent that such groups “play a critical role in disaster response and recovery by coordinating and delivering essential services such as shelter, food, water, and emotional support.”
“Their shared mission is to serve all disaster survivors with compassion and dignity, especially those most vulnerable, and to work together to help communities recover,” the group said.
The Independent has requested comment from FEMA.
Undocumented immigrants are already among the most vulnerable when it comes to climate disasters, with limited access to cash relief and shelter support.
“Instead of helping communities rebuild after a natural disaster, these DHS restrictions risk leaving Latino families vulnerable when they need help the most,” according to Hispanic and Latino civil rights group UnidosUS. “Disasters do not discriminate; DHS shouldn’t either,” the group said.
“Disaster aid should be about saving lives — not checking papers,” according to Erica Bernal-Martinez, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, which has trained hundreds of Latino officials for emergency preparedness.
“DHS’s policy threatens disaster relief, putting already vulnerable communities even more at risk,” she said.
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal called the move “unfathomable discrimination” that “will cost our country lives.”
“When disaster hits, we cannot only help those with certain legal status,” she wrote. “We have an obligation to help every single person in need. This is unfathomable discrimination against immigrants that will cost our country lives.”
The Congressional Integrity Project, a political action group focused on Republican leadership in Congress, said the GOP has left “communities with nowhere to turn when disaster strikes.”
“By imposing discriminatory bureaucratic barriers that block organizations from delivering essential services after disasters, the administration, enabled by Republicans in Congress, is deliberately sabotaging the humanitarian response system that saves lives — regardless of immigration status,” the group said in a statement Thursday.
The result will be “preventable deaths and needless suffering” in service of Trump’s agenda, the group said.
