Congressman Henry Cuellar recently announced that border communities aff ected by the humanitarian crisis that developed last year as a result of an infl ux of unaccompanied minors crossing the border into the United States will be eligible for fi nancial reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “As my district knows all too well, communities along the border are responsible for dealing with a lot of important and expensive problems like providing humanitarian relief to children who have come to our country,” Congressman Cuellar said. “It’s important that the federal government mitigate these expenses and provide resources to assist with handling the issues that are unique to the cities

and counties along border. I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for working with me on a bipartisan solution to this problem.” Law enforcement, non-profi ts, religious, governmental and other community partners who incurred unexpected costs due to the surge will be able to apply for reimbursements due to an addition Cuellar included in the FY2015 Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Th e language adds a provision which makes costs of providing humanitarian relief to unaccompanied alien children and to alien adults and their minor children eligible for reimbursement under certain Homeland Security grants to Southwest border recipients for fi scal years 2013 and 2014. Th e infl ux of unaccompanied alien children and families that came across the Southwest border overwhelmed federal resources and put a burden on state and local
jurisdictions, particularly small counties, cities, and non-profi ts along the border. Awards may used for reimbursement of costs related to providing humanitarian relief to unaccompanied children and families, including costs for food, water, hygiene products, medicine, medical supplies and temporary housing, as well as costs for transportation to and from temporary housing or to permanent housing.

http://periodicoenlacergv.com/border-cities-and-counties-will-now-be-eligible-for-fema-grants/