WASHINGTON—This week, Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeastern U.S., killing at least 200 Americans and displacing millions more from their homes and work. The Heritage Foundation’s emergency response experts are calling out the Biden-Harris administration’s clearly erroneous priorities and mismanagement before and after the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  

Heritage’s Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center and former acting deputy chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Lora Ries stated:   

“The American people’s suffering from this devastating hurricane is needlessly prolonged because of the Biden-Harris administration’s mismanagement of federal emergency resources.

“This administration has diverted billions of dollars and resources to facilitate mass illegal migration to and throughout the U.S. and to fund woke programs that do not advance department missions. These initiatives do not serve the core missions of these agencies.

“These fundamental failures—including restricting private citizens from searching for, rescuing, and supplying storm victims while FEMA’s Helene response has been woefully inadequate and late—is simply inexcusable.”  

Heritage Visiting Fellow at the Border Security and Immigration Center former DHS and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official Brian Cavanaugh added:  

“The Biden-Harris administration has deliberately abandoned FEMA’s core mission of helping Americans before, during, and after disasters. They did so for purely ideological reasons, to facilitate the mass migration of illegal aliens into the country.

“DHS Secretary Mayorkas’ funding transfers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to FEMA have dramatically and radically expanded the Emergency Food and Shelter Program to cover the costs of housing, transportation, food, and phones for illegal aliens—costing American lives. The administration’s prioritization of DEI and Climate Task Forces within FEMA instead of emergency response officials has further exacerbated the situation.

“These patterns of systemic failures and absent leadership are seen in numerous funding, hiring, and program initiatives within DHS. It must be addressed immediately.”