Trump administration to host immigration hearings at FEMA headquarters

The Trump administration is turning a conference room inside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s D.C. headquarters into a space to host immigration hearings starting as early as Tuesday, according to five agency officials with knowledge of the situation and an internal email reviewed by The Washington Post.

In an email that FEMA’s office of the administrator sent to staff Friday evening, officials said the Department of Homeland Security will be using the conference center alongside the Justice Department.

“FEMA staff should not access the space as it is used for non agency-related activities,” the internal email said, warning staff that the area will be busier than usual.

“The Department of Homeland Security plans to use conference room space within FEMA headquarters to support critical Department operations,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “This arrangement will not impact FEMA’s workforce or disrupt any of FEMA’s normal operations. No FEMA personnel or operational resources are being diverted to the DHS activities and FEMA remains fully focused on carrying out its mission.”

The move is the latest example of the Trump administration shifting FEMA resources toward immigration enforcement, prompting concerns among agency staff about intertwining that effort with the agency’s disaster work.

The conference space is in a part of the headquarters building that is open to the public. FEMA typically uses the space for trainings, meetings and other initiatives, such as its World Cup task force, according to two FEMA officials.

One official with knowledge of the situation said they are expecting about 40 to 50 immigration hearings to be held in the FEMA conference room each day. Two agency officials said it was not immediately clear how long the space would be used for immigration-related work.

Construction work has been taking place at the space recently, three officials said.

While this particular conference space is not usually used for FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center, agency employees said that as the typical peak of hurricane season approaches, that space could be needed.

Agency staff familiar with the move raised concerns about the appearance of hosting immigration hearings at FEMA’s headquarters.

“It’s just bad optics for us in general,” one official said.

Another expressed concerns about possible protests “in front of the building, with FEMA’s name outside the building, and then we’ll be lumped in by association.”

Beginning last summer, the Trump administration reassigned FEMA personnel to immigration enforcement roles that were largely outside the scope of emergency and disaster work, at a time when the agency was grappling with extensive cuts and leadership changes. A recent report by a group of House Democrats said supporting immigration work was a misuse of resources and strained the agency’s ability to respond to disasters.

FEMA’s primary mission “has been measurably undermined by DHS’ policy goals surrounding border security,” said the report from Democrats on the House Transportation subcommittee on economic development, public buildings and emergency management.