Puerto Rican families in need of temporary housing after Hurricane Maria will be able to stay at hotels and motels using Federal Emergency Management Agency vouchers until July 23 after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the government program should be extended.
The Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, which is supporting about 1,700 Puerto Ricans displaced after the devastating 2017 weather event, was set to expire on Saturday before a lawsuit was filed over the program’s end date.
On Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Massachusetts Leo Sorokin ordered that beneficiaries continue being accommodated until at least Tuesday at midnight.
But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Hillman, also based in Massachusetts, outlined deadlines for FEMA’s legal team and lawyers representing Puerto Ricans to present their respective cases, adding that he expects to make a decision about the program’s future by July 23, according to multiple reports. Until then, guests could stay where they are, Hillman wrote.
William Booher, FEMA’s public affairs director, wrote on Twitter Tuesday that the agency would keep working with its vendors to provide shelter before the displaced Puerto Ricans are required to check out on July 24.
Statement from @fema on Court Order Extending Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program for Puerto Rico by William Booher, Public Affairs Director. pic.twitter.com/qb6SOYLwHo
— William Booher (@FEMAspox) July 3, 2018
Researchers estimate as many as 4,500 individuals may have died during Hurricane Maria and in the storm’s aftermath. FEMA said in June it was looking to rollback the temporary housing program for hurricane victims after spending more than $432 million and assistance in excess of 25,000 families.
