WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, are requesting that if Congress provides additional funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), that the 45-day limitation on that aid be increased to 180 days. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, the Maine Delegation is requesting an extension of the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) eligibility period – which typically lasts 45 days, but has no defined legal limit.

The Delegation wrote, “We write to request that, should Congress provide additional funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), you remove the 45-day limitation on aid from future SSP Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and increase the limitation to 180 days. Restricting services to those who have been released by DHS in the past 45 days will limit the eligibility of municipalities and groups in Maine and other states located further from the southern border to apply for SSP funding, and end the critical support from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program Humanitarian (EFSP-H) they have counted on for years.”

“The SSP NOFOs’ 45-day limitation is inappropriate for migrant destination locations like Maine. Maine immigrant services groups struggle with the 45-day limitation because migrants arriving in the state have typically been released from DHS custody many days prior, reducing the period in which these individuals and families may receive support. This reality makes it impossible for many Maine programs to access SSP funding that they have depended on under the EFSP-H program to support and assist migrants,” they continued.

The Delegation concluded, “We understand that DHS can revise NOFOs through administrative action that does not require further legislation. The 45-day requirement does not appear in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. F, Title II of P.L. 117-328) that created the SSP. DHS created the requirement of its own volition, and DHS has the ability to amend or remove the requirement going forward.”

FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) provides supplemental grants to local government and nonprofit organizations to support and help expand existing programs for individuals and families who are experiencing hunger or homelessness. In 2019, Congress appropriated EFSP funding specifically to supplement humanitarian relief for migrants encountered by DHS—known as EFSP-H. Neither EFSP nor the EFSP-H require the 45 day limit.

EFSP-H has been replaced by a new grant program, which is called SSP. Among the changes in SSP are new requirements for determining whether non-federal entities are eligible for migrant assistance funding, including a restriction that limits services to a 45 day limit of the migrants’ release from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

A full copy of the letter can be found here and below.

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Dear Secretary Mayorkas:

We write to request that, should Congress provide additional funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), you remove the 45-day limitation on aid from future SSP Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and increase the limitation to 180 days. Restricting services to those who have been released by DHS in the past 45 days will limit the eligibility of municipalities and groups in Maine and other states located further from the southern border to apply for SSP funding, and end the critical support from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program Humanitarian (EFSP-H) they have counted on for years.

The SSP NOFOs’ 45-day limitation is inappropriate for migrant destination locations like Maine. Maine immigrant services groups struggle with the 45-day limitation because migrants arriving in the state have typically been released from DHS custody many days prior, reducing the period in which these individuals and families may receive support. This reality makes it impossible for many Maine programs to access SSP funding that they have depended on under the EFSP-H program to support and assist migrants.

We understand that DHS can revise NOFOs through administrative action that does not require further legislation. The 45-day requirement does not appear in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. F, Title II of P.L. 117-328) that created the SSP. DHS created the requirement of its own volition, and DHS has the ability to amend or remove the requirement going forward. 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you regarding the action that you plan to take on removing or extending the 45-day limitation on future Notices of Funding Opportunity for the Shelter and Services Program.

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