Fifty-five organizations and communities have been awarded funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Shelter and Services program for their work with migrants awaiting the completion of their immigration process. In addition to this, DHS has also announced a competitive grant opportunity through the Shelter and Services (SSP) program.
According to the news release from the Department of Human Services, recipients of the initial $300 million in funding will have access to $275,000 of the funding with this initial distribution. An additional $25,000 will be allocated later this year to assist with operating requirements that may evolve throughout the year. This funding is intended to help communities provide temporary shelter and to aid with the costs of sheltering migrants who are working through legal immigration proceedings.
The awards were distributed among 31 organizations in Texas, the City of Philadelphia, three organizations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Buffalo, New York; four entities in New Mexico; one in Cumberland County Maine; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois; the City of Atlanta, United Way of Miami, the District of Columbia, Denver city/county and Colorado state; three entities in California; and four entities in Arizona. According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which manages the SSP award program, first round allocations ranged from $10,000 to $19,592,554.
In its April 12 announcement, DHS also provided information on an additional $340.9 million in SSP competitive grants that will be allocated before fiscal year-end. The competitive program will allow service providers some flexibility as per another news release. However, FEMA will still require awardees to submit their budgets and review documentation prior to releasing funding to recipients.
From May 12, 2023 to April 3, 2024, more than 660,000 individuals have been removed or returned from the United States according to a DHS news release about the grant awards. More than 100,000 individual family members crossed the southwest border. Since mid-May, the removals and returns over the past three years have exceeded the number of individuals removed and returned each fiscal year since 2011.
