On 10th February (local time), Elon Musk accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of allocating $59 million last week to luxury hotels in New York City to accommodate illegal migrants. Musk’s accusations were based on a discovery made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is headed by Musk.
The @DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2025
Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order.
That money is meant for American disaster relief…
In a post on the social media platform X, Musk wrote, “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order. That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals! A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds.”
Notably, the transfer of funds was in violation of the executive order signed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, barring any such transfers.
One of the beneficiaries of government funding to accommodate illegal immigrants in NYC is the Roosevelt Hotel, which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a government agency of Pakistan. The Roosevelt Hotel signed a deal with New York City in which the city agreed to pay $220 million to rent the hotel to house migrants.
The hotel came under scrutiny after Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy labelled the arrangement between the hotel and the state as “nuts”. In a post on X in December 2024, Ramaswamy wrote, “A taxpayer-funded hotel for illegal migrants is owned by the Pakistani government, which means NYC taxpayers are effectively paying a foreign government to house illegals in our own country. This is nuts.”
A taxpayer-funded hotel for illegal migrants is owned by the Pakistani government which means NYC taxpayers are effectively paying a foreign government to house illegals in our own country. This is nuts. https://t.co/Oy4Z9qoX45
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 1, 2024
The hotel had been shut since 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. On 4th June 2023, then-Minister of Railways and Aviation f Pakistan, Khawaja Saad Rafique, said in a press conference that the hotel was leased out to the local city government for three years. He added that it would bring $220 million in revenue to Pakistan. For a cash-strapped country, it was big deal to get such amount coming from a previously shut hotel.
روزویلٹ ہوٹل کو تین سال کیلیے لیز پر دیا ہے
— Khawaja Saad Rafique (@KhSaad_Rafique) June 4, 2023
اب اس کو لینڈ مارک قرار نہیں دیا جا سکے گا
اس معاہدے سے 220 ملین ڈالر پاکستان آئیں گے
ایک بند ہوٹل کو کمائی کا ذریعہ بنا کر اپنی ذمہ داری سے عہدہ بر آ ہو رہے ہیں pic.twitter.com/xYoMvizXdf
The agreement involved leasing all 1,025 rooms of the hotel to the city at price of over $200 per night. Initially, the contract was signed for one year but Rafique expressed hope that it would be extended for full three years. The hotel in question was built in 1924 and PIA had taken its control in 2000.
FEMA is facing heat not only because the funds were transferred despite orders against it by the President but also because it recently reported a lack of funds during Hurricane Helene. However, after the backlash, FEMA issued a statement claiming it was just a rumour and the agency had the required funds to support the victims.
President Trump has initiated process to clamp down government spending which included shutting down USAID. The action against USAID resulted in a massive outcry from the beneficiaries which further opened floodgates of expose on how the agency was pumping billions of dollars for regime change, censorship and other operations worldwide.
