By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A year-long battle is over after the federal government agreed to reimburse Pima County millions for the cost of housing migrants.
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According to a memo from Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher, FEMA has agreed to pay the county more than $3.5 million.
That is some of the money the county spent to house migrants during the 2024 fiscal year.
The federal agencies froze the funding following unsubstantiated accusations that the county had aided and abetted migrants who were here unlawfully through its shelters.
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At the time, 13 News talked to supervisors Steve Christy and Matt Heinz. The men had very different thoughts on the move by the federal government.
Heinz claimed it was politically motivated, while Christy said the county has no business being in the migrant business.
“What’s happening is something that I’ve said we never should have gotten involved with in the first place,” Christy told 13 News at the time. “It’s the old adage – Pima County’s chickens are coming home to roost.”
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Heinz said the letter announcing the funding freeze was garbage, and it was just a ploy to politicize the issue. He said the letter even named a county employee, essentially accusing that person of committing a crime.
“We asked for and were granted these funds by the federal government to help deal with this federal problem,” Heinz said at the time. “That the federal government can’t seem to get its mind around.”
The $3.5 million is on top of the $6 million the county got for its migrant housing expenses from 2023.
However, the county was left with a bill of around $30,000 after the federal government disallowed the expenses. That figure came from how the county calculated wages of a contractor differently than == federal regulations.
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