“They have no justification to not reimburse us, and that is what we are continuing to fight for,” said Councilwoman Dr. Sukh Kaur.
SAN ANTONIO — Millions of dollars owed to the City of San Antonio for migrant operations. More than $13 million are currently being withheld by the federal government.
District 1 Councilwoman Dr. Sukh Kaur acknowledged earlier this month The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent a letter to the city requesting documents.
Those documents include the names and contact information of migrants the city assisted after crossing into the U.S.
“The reimbursement process is a little bit slow with the federal government and always has been and there is a chunk of money that we are still waiting on,” said Kaur.
The chunk of money amounts to $13.2 million for funds the city has spent in migrant operations through FEMA’s Shelter and Service Program (SSP).
According to the city manager’s office memo sent to the mayor and city council earlier this month, the city spent $35.9 million. So far, the city has been reimbursed $22.5 million.
“We were serving folks that were coming in with an ‘A’ letter, which they’re receiving at the border. Which means essentially they were coming in with a court date from a country that they were seeking asylum from,” said Kaur.
On March 11, FEMA sent the city a Remedy for Noncompliance Letter, stating the Department of Homeland Security has significant concerns that SSP funding is going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities.
“It wasn’t just a letter that was addressed to San Antonio. It’s a generic form letter that the federal government is sending out to try to gather and tell that information, about what was happening at some of these centers,” said Kaur.
The letter also is requesting all documents regarding migrant interaction used through the SSP award, including the names and contact information and a detailed list of services provided.
“That information is all knowledge that they would have anyways, regardless at the border. So what we are basically doing is complying with what is being asked of us,” she said.
The councilwoman says city attorneys are working on preparing all the information right now in response to the letter.
“I think it’s fair to say that everyone is feeling a little bit of concern right now. We do believe we followed everything as was required of us and followed all of the protocols. So they have no justification to not reimburse us. And that is what we are continuing to fight for,” Kaur said.
The city has 30 days to respond to the request. We did reach out to the city manager’s office, who provided the following statement:
“The City received notice from FEMA that they are withholding payments for certain grants related to our work with the Federal Shelter and Services Program,” City Manager Erik Walsh said. “I shared this information with the City Council on Wednesday, March 12. The FEMA letter states nothing specific to the City of San Antonio or activities at the Migrant Resource Center (MRC), which stopped accepting new arrivals on Feb. 3, 2025. Rather, the letter expresses concerns generally that Shelter and Services Programs have been used to engage in or facilitate ‘illegal activities.’ We understand that other entities have received similar letters. FEMA has requested that we respond and provide additional information, and we will do so.”