North Carolina residents Matt Van Swol and Erin Derham blasted FEMA over reports that millions funded housing for illegal migrants as Hurricane Helene victims continue to suffer.
North Carolina residents are slamming FEMA after DOGE lead Elon Musk claimed the agency recently spent nearly $60 million on illegal immigrants in New York City, despite reportedly running on empty when it comes to helping American citizens affected by Hurricane Helene.
“It is absolutely infuriating to see millions and millions of dollars going to someone that doesn’t have a Social Security number, did not pay taxes, is not an American citizen getting all of this money to go live in a luxury hotel in New York when people we’re working with can’t even get the bare minimum from FEMA. It’s crazy,” Weaverville, North Carolina resident Matt Van Swol told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
After driving by people living in tents for months on end, waiting for FEMA’s help, he accused the agency of leaving them “high and dry.”
The nearly $60 million given to illegal migrants is “mind-blowing,” he added.
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The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Tuesday that “four employees are being fired today for circumventing leadership and unilaterally making the egregious payment for hotels for migrants in New York City.”
The firings come after Musk wrote on X Monday that “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.”
A New York City Hall spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the city had received funds “through the past week” that were allocated by the Biden administration for the purpose of housing and supporting illegal immigrants.
Of the $59.3 million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance funded other services such as food and security. According to N.Y. City Hall, the funds were not part of a disaster relief grant.
FEMA caught flak last year after it was reported they lacked the funds necessary to help Hurricane Helene victims. The storm, which dealt a catastrophic blow to the Appalachian region, displaced many who have yet to get back on their feet.
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“This is a misappropriation of funds… the people of North Carolina were ignored,” New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told “America’s Newsroom” Tuesday, noting she suggested housing hurricane victims in the Big Apple over migrants last year.
Erin Derham, who appeared alongside Van Swol, is also a Weaverville resident.
She told Lawrence Jones that she and Matt had an “epiphany” after the storm that any American could find themselves in the same situation.
“Our neighbors don’t have homes. We have to drive past [destruction] on our way to school every day with our kids. Roads are down… I was on the phone with a woman yesterday who all of her roads are down. Her bridge is down, and that’s probably the fourth bridge story I’ve heard in the past few days, and they’ve gotten zero help from FEMA.
She continued, “We brought our caseworkers on her site yesterday, and we don’t even know where to start. It’s so bad… this takes a federal level of support. We’ve rehomed people. We’ve helped finance rent, we’re rebuilding a house right now, but this we can’t tackle.”
“Fox & Friends” reached out to FEMA for comment but did not receive a response before the interview.
Fox News’ Aubrie Spady and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
