Overview
- An October 2025 Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office review concluded FEMA workers impermissibly recorded politically related information, identifying violations of the Privacy Act of 1974.
- The report cites entries across multiple disasters dating back to Hurricane Ida in 2021, including notes referencing pro-Trump signs and recommendations to avoid certain homes.
- Investigators flagged FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance Field Operations Guide for using undefined terms like “hostile” and advising workers to leave situations if they “feel threatened,” enabling subjective decisions to skip outreach.
- The findings challenge former Administrator Deanne Criswell’s testimony that a 2024 Hurricane Milton episode was an isolated incident, as internal entries such as “Trump sign, no contact per leadership” were reported by multiple officials.
- The Privacy Office recommended procedural reforms to curb political information-gathering and subjective aid delivery, while FEMA and PRIV offered limited responses to media inquiries and officials noted the documented cases were relatively few but had increased in recent years.