DHS continues to provide unprecedented resources to support border & interior communities

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), announced the allocation of over $380 million through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). Through the SSP, DHS directly supports communities that are providing critical support such as food, shelter, clothing, acute medical care, and transportation to noncitizens recently released from DHS custody and awaiting their immigration court proceedings. FEMA, in coordination with CBP, is administering these SSP grants with state, local and tribal governments as well as nongovernmental organizations to help prevent the overcrowding of short-term CBP holding facilities. This funding augments the $259.13 million in SSP grants that DHS distributed in April 2024.

This grant cycle provides a new opportunity through a competitive program and builds on the support being provided to communities on the border and in the interior. Last year, more than $780 million awarded through SSP and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian Awards (EFSP-H) funding in Fiscal Year 2023 went to organizations and cities across the country.

DHS efforts to manage and secure our borders in a safe, orderly, and humane way include support for communities, as well as strengthened consequences for those without a legal basis to remain and an expansion of lawful pathways that have helped reduce the number of encounters from specific populations. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s operational report for July 2024 shows a significant decline in migrant encounters during the first full month after a Presidential Proclamation issued June 4, 2024, by President Biden to temporarily suspend the entry of certain noncitizens across the southern border. U.S. Border Patrol encounters in July were 32% lower than in June 2024 and were the lowest monthly total along the southwest border since September 2020. July’s total numbers between ports of entry are also lower than July 2019, and lower than the monthly average for all of 2019, the last comparable year prior to the pandemic.

Due to the substantial demand that exceeds the limited SSP program funding authorized by Congress, not all requests can be fulfilled.

For more information on the Shelter and Services Program, visit FEMA.gov.

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Keywords

• Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)