Pallone Demands Trump Admin Reverse Decision to Pull Half of Key FEMA Teams for Immigration Enforcement During Peak Hurricane Season

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today sent a letter to Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding she reverse her decision to reassign half of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) human resources and security employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 90 days – in the middle of peak hurricane season.

Pallone called the move “short-sighted” and “extremely dangerous,” warning it would gut FEMA’s ability to respond to hurricanes and other disasters during the most critical months of the year for coastal states like New Jersey.

“A mass detail during hurricane season is unheard of precisely because past leadership recognized that doing so would kneecap FEMA’s ability to keep Americans safe,” Pallone wrote. “…The Trump Administration fired and pushed into early retirement one-third of FEMA’s workforce, crippling its ability to respond to back-to-back disasters. FEMA’s workforce is now stretched perilously thin managing numerous ongoing disasters.”

Pallone’s letter cites the recent devastating floods in Texas  as well as ongoing recovery issues in North Carolina and other major flooding events across the country. He warned that removing more than 100 key FEMA employees now will slow or block the delivery of lifesaving aid in the aftermath of storms.

The Trump Administration’s reassignment of FEMA staff is also part of a broader shift in federal priorities under Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) which dramatically expands ICE funding, enabling a mass deportation initiative, while slashing key social safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance. Pallone noted that Republicans in Congress passed the OBBB with over $30 billion specifically to expand ICE staffing, making the poaching of FEMA staff unnecessary for immigration enforcement.

“When it comes to disaster response, our nation should not shoot from the hip,” Pallone wrote. “Emergency management isn’t just FEMA’s job, it’s America’s promise to our citizens.”

Pallone emphasized that FEMA’s human resources and security teams are essential to disaster operations – rapidly hiring recovery workers, securing contracts, conducting background checks, and protecting field operations. Stripping away half of that workforce during the height of hurricane season, he said, puts every coastal state at risk.

With experts forecasting an above-average hurricane season, including the likelihood of multiple major storms, Pallone urged Noem to “bring these key employees back to FEMA before it’s too late.”

The full letter is available here and below:

Secretary Noem:  

I urge you to immediately reverse your decision to detail half of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) human resources and security staff to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Making this decision in the middle of peak hurricane season is yet another example of dangerous decisions you and FEMA’s Acting Director David Richardson have demonstrated and put the health and safety of my constituents on the Jersey Shore at risk. 

Reassigning more than 100 key FEMA employees to ICE for 90 days during the months of August, September, and October is not only short-sighted, but also extremely dangerous. A mass detail during hurricane season is unheard of precisely because past leadership recognized that doing so would kneecap FEMA’s ability to keep Americans safe. I was already concerned about the agency’s capacity to respond to hurricanes impacting the Jersey Shore after learning that FEMA got rid of 2,000 employees. 

Based on the evidence, FEMA is understaffed, poorly managed and woefully unprepared for what forecasters claim will be an above-average hurricane season. The Trump Administration fired and pushed into early retirement one-third of FEMA’s workforce crippling its ability to respond to back-to-back disasters. FEMA’s workforce is now stretched perilously thin managing numerous ongoing disasters. This includes the recent devastating Texas floods, which left Americans without promised services, and ongoing recovery issues in North Carolina and other major flooding events across the country.    

Shifting more than 100 key FEMA employees to ICE to carry out your mass deportation initiative puts Americans at risk. In response to a major disaster, FEMA depends on their human resources and security teams to surge assistance into impacted communities with hundreds of local hires, recovery contracts, background investigations, and field operations security. Poaching employees from FEMA is also unnecessary given that Republicans in Congress passed the One Big Ugly Bill that  supercharges ICE with over $30 billion for the sole purpose of hiring additional agents that they do not even need. 

When it comes to disaster response, our nation should not shoot from the hip. Asking communities and states to face extreme weather alone is wrong. Emergency management isn’t just FEMA’s job; it’s America’s promise to our citizens. 

We are in the height of hurricane season, where a major storm is a true all-hands-on-deck moment. I strongly urge you to immediately reverse this decision and bring these key employees back to FEMA before it’s too late.