Disaster Assistance for Immigrants

Federal disaster assistance is provided to survivors of a major disaster through:

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Individuals and Households Program (IHP), Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and emergency provisions of other benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• FEMA, the key federal coordinating agency, works in concert with and provides referrals to other agencies administering disaster relief.

NOTE: The most common “major disasters” are earthquakes, storms, fires, and civil unrest

FEMA provides:

• Temporary Housing Assistance. Rent payments or temporary housing units for people who must relocate due to disaster-related damage to their primary home or apartment.
• Mortgage and Rental Assistance. Rent or mortgage payments for people suffering a financial hardship due to the disaster and facing eviction or foreclosure.
• Emergency home repairs. Grants to homeowners to restore the habitability of their home and replace essential household items.
• Critical Needs Assistance. One-time, limited payments for immediate needs such as food, medications and medical equipment, infant formula, and personal hygiene items.

Other programs:

The Individuals and Households Program (IHP)

• Provides grants to people needing financial help for disaster-related expenses such as housing repairs and cleanup, replacement of household and job essentials (including transportation), child care, and medical, dental, and funeral costs; also provides temporary housing expense reimbursements and rental assistance.
• To receive IHP for purposes other than medical, dental, and funeral costs, an individual must be ineligible for an SBA loan, or must have received an SBA loan that is inadequate to cover his or her needs.
• The IHP is administered through state offices of emergency services or similar state agencies.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA):

• Provides cash income to people who become unemployed due to a major disaster and who are ineligible for regular state unemployment insurance (UI). DUA is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor through state employment agencies.

Food programs:

• Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP), and food distribution may be provided to meet emergency food needs arising after a disaster. These food programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through state social services agencies or similar state or local organizations.

Short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster assistance:

• Numerous agencies independently provide food, water, shelter, medical care, emergency shelter, search and rescue, and other services to minimize threats to life, property, and public health and safety.

Small Business Administration (SBA) loans:

• Low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, nonprofit organizations, and large and small businesses to repair or replace damaged homes, personal property, or businesses.
• Primary source of federal funds for long-term housing assistance.

Individuals qualify for disaster assistance who:

• have suffered a loss caused by an event that the president of the United States has declared to be a major disaster
• apply soon after a disaster is declared, within the application period for the particular benefit program

Special considerations for immigrants and their families:

• If one member of the household is a U.S. citizen or a “qualified” immigrant, the household may be eligible for FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.
• Receipt of disaster relief does not have public charge consequences.
• All immigrants, regardless of immigration status, are eligible for short-term, noncash, in-kind, emergency disaster relief and similar services.

To apply, a person should:

• FEMA via telephone at 1-800-621–3362 (following some disasters, FEMA opens Disaster Recovery Centers where people can obtain information or apply for assistance). https://www.disasterassistance.gov/help/contact-usFollowing some disasters, FEMA opens Disaster Recovery Centers where people can obtain information or apply for assistance. To find one near you, go to https://egateway.fema.gov/ESF6/DRCLocator.

The law governing federal disaster assistance appears at:

• Stafford Disaster and Relief Act 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121, et seq., 44 C.F.R. §§ 206.1, et seq.(FEMA and IHP), 20 C.F.R. §§ 625.1, et seq. (DUA), 7 C.F.R. §§ 280.1, et seq. (Emergency Food Coupons and Food Distribution), 15 U.S.C. §§ 634, et seq., 13 C.F.R. §§ 123.1, et seq. (SBA); immigrant eligibility described in Memorandum from Lacy E. Suiter, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Executive Associate Director, Response and Recovery Directorate Policy No. 4430.140C, Policy on Verification of Citizenship, Qualified Alien Status and Eligibility for Disaster Assistance (Mar. 2, 1998).

Additional materials:

• Fact Sheet: Citizenship Status and Eligibility for Disaster Assistance FAQ at https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210318/fact-sheet-citizenship-status-and-eligibility-disaster-assistance-faq#
• Information on FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program,
  https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program
• Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide, at), at https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/policy-guidance-and-fact-sheets (last updated May 2021), and memo with amendments at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_iappg-policy-amendments-memo.pdf (Sept. 2, 2021).

*For footnotes and bibliography, please reference the PDF version of this resource below.