Before it hit Florida, we were already on the ground.

FEMA officials have been on the ground in Florida since before Hurricane Helene struck, according to the head of the agency, who is refuting "false" criticism of the agency's response to the storm.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is discussing FEMA's efforts to recover from the disaster in the southeast, amid allegations that officials have misused government funding for illegal migrants and have not responded quickly enough to the crisis.

Since before Hurricane Helene hit Florida and it crossed over North Carolina, we have been on the ground, and it's important to note that just because someone doesn't see a FEMA shirt doesn't mean we're not in the area, as Criswell stated on "Special Report" on Monday.

"We have a team on the state side to help them understand their needs and allocate resources where they're needed," she said. "We've provided food and water, and most of what you see delivered by the National Guardsmen across North Carolina are the supplies we've brought in. The entire federal family is supporting this response. We've been there, and we will continue to be there until it's necessary to ensure everyone's needs are met."

FEMA has "sufficient funds" to handle both Hurricane Helene and Category 5 Hurricane Milton, which is predicted to strike Florida later this week, according to Criswell.

"With our budget, we can continue to meet the needs of those affected by Hurricane Helene and the preparations for Hurricane Milton. However, we do not have enough funds to sustain our efforts throughout the year, and we had to resort to immediate needs funding earlier in the year to ensure we could provide assistance during Helene."

"We may need to revisit immediate needs funding in December-January to ensure lifesaving actions are always supported."

FEMA money is being used for disaster response, not illegal migrants, as claimed by Criswell.

"The Disaster Relief Fund is the fund used to respond to disasters and no funds have been removed from it to support other activities. However, the funding that was given to Customs and Border Patrol was transferred to us to support some of those efforts. The Disaster Relief Fund remains intact and is being used solely to assist those in need."

Criswell stressed FEMA is also moving in additional resources ahead of Hurricane Milton.