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‘Disaster Equity:' FEMA shifted focus to migrants, climate and DEI
[JustTheNews] Many Americans assume FEMA is only focused on helping respond to disaster, but they are wrong. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking fire for its increased focus on migrants, and diversity, equity and inclusion polices while its response to recent hurricanes is under scrutiny. Many Americans assume FEMA is only focused on helping respond to disasters, but a closer look at FEMA’s recent internal documents, spending, and public actions shows that FEMA has broadened its focus to handling the flow of migrants into the U.S. and attempting to double down on DEI initiatives on gender, sexuality and race. FEMA’s 2022-2026 strategic plan, an overarching document created by agencies to lay out their priorities, named its first goal not as disaster relief, but instead diversity, equity and inclusion. In its first goal, the plan promised to “Instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.” It’s second named priority is to “lead whole of Community in climate resilience.” FEMA’s “readiness” comes in as the third goal in the plan. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be optional; they must be core components of how the agency conducts itself internally and executes its mission,” the plan reads. FEMA makes clear in its plan that equity, which includes racial identity, will be taken into consideration when distributing aid, highlighting that there should be “equitable and fair distribution of assistance to all those affected – especially those disproportionally impacted." The “especially” signifies a belief in the DEI community that certain groups, including transgender people or minorities, suffer more from natural disasters. FEMA has also hired Montage Marketing Group to “elevate diversity and engage employees in creating an inclusive workplace.” Those efforts included kicking off an “Inclusive Diversity Council” and promoting Transgender Day of Remembrance. FEMA’s drift in focus took center stage after U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters during the agency's response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated portions of North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, that while FEMA had enough funds to respond to deadly Hurricane Milton, it may not have enough to finish this hurricane season. “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas told reporters at the time. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.” His comments come after reporting showed that in April of this year, FEMA announced $640 million in new funding, $300 million of which was for helping immigrants settle in the U.S. The other $340 million of that funding was set aside to be awarded as grants to cities also for migrants. Related: Federal Emergency Management Agency: 2024-10-16 Biden's Deputies Spend $750 Million to Settle Migrants in North Carolina Federal Emergency Management Agency: 2024-10-11 Hurricane Milton News Roundup for October 10th, 2024 Federal Emergency Management Agency: 2024-10-08 How FEMA got into the illegal immigrant business, and who is covering it up Related: Diversity, equity and inclusion: 2024-10-06 What Happens to All the Unnecessary DEI Workers? Diversity, equity and inclusion: 2024-08-23 Jack Daniel's maker scraps DEI policies after threat of ‘anti-woke' boycott Diversity, equity and inclusion: 2024-07-27 US police no longer trust FBI Posted by: Skidmark 2024-10-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=721150 |