SAN ANTONIO -- It’s the latest on a federal bill helping local governments and nonprofits working with Central American migrants. The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill will allocate $30 million for reimbursements.
- San Antonio to receive $30 million in reimbursements
- City has helped thousands of Central American migrants
- Funds to be distributed to Emergency Food and Shelter National Board
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, announced the update on Monday. This funding by Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA will reimburse organizations that have incurred massive costs for providing humanitarian relief for children and families seeking asylum at the border. The bill will cover California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, for now.
Since March 30, the City of San Antonio has assisted 26,000 migrants at the Resource Center. The Food Bank of San Antonio has served 60,000 meals. Another 17,000 have spent the night at Travis Park Church. Each organization racking up tens of thousands of dollars in migrant care expenses, leaders say. Now organizations can submit receipts for reimbursements.
According to Cuellar, these funds will be given directly to the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board under FEMA. Local committees will be collecting applications from entities seeking to be reimbursed, then they will send the applications to the National Review for approval. Culler said United Way is serving as the committee for San Antonio.
It’s unclear how much money will be reimbursed for each local government or organization.