Claims about FEMA, North Carolina, and $2 billion earmarked for migrants originated on parody pages

Hurricane Helene devastated swaths of North Carolina, damaging more than 70,000 homes and displacing some residents into trailers or tents as they reckon with the natural disaster’s aftermath.

But claims President Donald Trump has directed FEMA to disburse $2 billion in funds initially earmarked for migrants originated on a self-described satire site.

“FEMA has been directed back to North Carolina with $2 billion in emergency funds: ‘We transferred it from the programs that fund welfare for illegals. They don’t be needing it,’” a Jan. 21 Facebook post said. “Thank you President Trump.”

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

FEMA didn’t immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. Neither did North Carolina Emergency Management or the state’s governor’s office. 

We found no credible source to corroborate the post’s claims or quote.

But we did find another Facebook post with the same claim. Only this one came with a caveat: It was fake news. 

“FEMA has been directed back to North Carolina with $2 billion in emergency funds: ‘We transferred it from the programs that fund welfare for illegals. They don’t be needing it,’” the Jan. 21 post said on the Facebook page America – Love It Or Leave It.

The page is a subsidiary of America’s Last Line of Defense, an account created by Christopher Blair, who has said its posts are satire intended to mock conservatives, The New York Times recently reported.

The America – Love It Or Leave It Facebook page says in its intro: “Nothing on this page is real.”

A FEMA spokesperson told Reuters on Jan. 22 that the agency hasn’t received additional funding to reimburse North Carolina for its hurricane recovery efforts.

On Jan. 24, Trump visited North Carolina, where he suggested “getting rid of” FEMA and letting “the states take care of disasters.” 

In October, Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration stole $1 billion “from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants,” leaving the agency without “any money.” 

FEMA has been funding migrants’ food, shelter and transportation through two programs that give money to nonprofit organizations and state and local governments. This started in 2019, during the Trump administration. But the funding doesn’t come at the expense of natural disaster relief. Congress funds the migrant and disaster relief programs separately.

We rate claims Trump rerouted $2 billion in funds for migrants to North Carolina disaster relief False.