Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
White House Wants $4.5 Billion in Emergency Border Funding
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 1, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday asked Congress for an additional $4.5 billion in emergency funds for the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration contends with a surge of Central American migrant families, with the bulk of the money for shelter and care.

The number of families and children arriving alone at the border is outpacing the number of single adults, and their needs are much different. The U.S. is on track to have as many as 1 million crossing this year, the highest since the early 2000s, when mostly single men from Mexico crossed and were easily returned. Border stations were not constructed to handle such a large volume of children and families, and they have been pushed to the breaking point.

Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday encountered its largest group to date: 424 people in rural New Mexico comprised mostly of children and families.

But getting Democrats and Republicans to agree on the matter has been a challenge, partly because of President Donald Trump’s hardline rhetoric on immigration and his political pledges on border security. It’s not clear whether Congress will approve such a request, especially because it comes on the heels of the longest government shutdown in history over Trump’s demand for border wall funding and his subsequent national emergency declaration, which skirted Congress altogether to seek the funding elsewhere.

This money, though, would not be used for border barriers, according to senior administration officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. It would be used to address urgent humanitarian needs, they said, and the money is needed urgently. They insisted the funds were different from what Trump seeks to make available through the national emergency declaration.

White House Wants $3.3 Billion to Increase Shelter Capacity

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, said Trump’s administration had contributed to the crisis on the border and her committee would be taking a thorough look at the request.

“As a country, we must do more to meet the needs of migrants – especially children and families – who are arriving in increasing numbers. However, the Trump administration appears to want much of this $4.5 billion emergency supplemental request to double down on cruel and ill-conceived policies.” — House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey

“As a country, we must do more to meet the needs of migrants – especially children and families – who are arriving in increasing numbers,” she said. “However, the Trump administration appears to want much of this $4.5 billion emergency supplemental request to double down on cruel and ill-conceived policies.”

The White House wants $3.3 billion to increase shelter capacity for unaccompanied migrant children and the feeding and care of families, plus transportation and processing centers.

An additional $1.1 billion would go toward operational support, including personnel expenses, detention beds, transportation and investigative work on smuggling. And the final $178 million would be used for mission support, including technology upgrades and pay adjustments.

“DHS projects it will exhaust resources well before the end of the fiscal year,” reads the formal request letter to Congress, which was obtained by the AP. “Without additional resources, the safety and well-being of law enforcement personnel and migrants are at substantial risk.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Encountered 50,036 Unaccompanied Children

It also says the Department of Health and Human Services, which manages the care of migrant children who arrive alone or who are separated from their parents by DHS under certain circumstances, will exhaust its resources by June. The funding request includes $2.8 billion to increase shelter capacity to about 23,600 total beds for unaccompanied children.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 50,036 unaccompanied children during the last budget year, and so far this budget year there have been 35,898 children. Their average length of stay in a government shelter is 66 days, up from 59 during fiscal year 2018 and 40 in 2016’s fiscal year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 50,036 unaccompanied children during the last budget year, and so far this budget year there have been 35,898 children. Their average length of stay in a government shelter is 66 days, up from 59 during fiscal year 2018 and 40 in 2016’s fiscal year.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Tuesday before a House subcommittee that his department was running out of money amid the spike in migrants crossing the southern border and he said there would be a supplemental request, but didn’t give a number. McAleenan said the money would be used for temporary and semi-permanent facilities to process families and children and also to increase detention.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Russell Vought, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the crisis was overwhelming the ability of the federal government to respond.

“The situation becomes more dire every day,” he wrote.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

DON'T MISS

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

DON'T MISS

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

DON'T MISS

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

DON'T MISS

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

DON'T MISS

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

DON'T MISS

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

DON'T MISS

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

DON'T MISS

California Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid to Cut Funds to ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

DON'T MISS

Town Hall on Trump’s First 100 Days Will Air Next Week

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

UP NEXT

Happ Hits Game-Ending Single in the 10th as the Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

UP NEXT

Trump: No Plans to Fire Fed Chair Powell, but Wants Lower Rates

UP NEXT

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

UP NEXT

Israeli Strikes Kill 17 in Gaza and Destroy Heavy Equipment Needed to Clear Rubble

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

1 hour ago

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

1 hour ago

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

2 hours ago

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

2 hours ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

2 hours ago

California Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid to Cut Funds to ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

2 hours ago

Town Hall on Trump’s First 100 Days Will Air Next Week

2 hours ago

Kristi Noem’s Handbag Was Snatched From Beneath Her Chair, DHS Says

3 hours ago

Interior Department to Fast-Track Oil, Gas and Mining Projects

3 hours ago

Survey: Californians Blame Utility Company Spending, Profits for High Electricity Rates

3 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

A Tulare man was sentenced Wednesday to four years and four months in state prison for a high-speed DUI crash that seriously injured two wom...

27 minutes ago

Maxwell Barrios, 28, of Tulare, was sentenced to over four years in state prison on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, for a 2023 DUI crash that seriously injured two women, including one who required a partial arm amputation. (Tulare County DA)
27 minutes ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

People vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., November 5, 2024. (REUTERS/Megan Jelinger/File Photo)
45 minutes ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

Forensic technicians stand at a cordoned area during a media tour by Jalisco's Attorney General Office at Izaguirre Ranch, which activists have called a cartel-run "extermination camp," in Teuchitlan, Jalisco state, Mexico March 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Ivan Arias/File Photo)
1 hour ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters about Wednesday's deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Eagle flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)
1 hour ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

1 hour ago

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

Robert E. Crimo III. arrives for his trial in Judge Victoria A. Rossetti’s courtroom in Waukegan, Illinois, U.S., March 3, 2025. (Nam Y. Huh/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Shooter in 2022 Chicago-Area Parade Massacre Sentenced to Life in Prison

Bryan Blackman (right), 52, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder after admitting to fatally stabbing his son, Javoeea Blackman, 25, during a disturbance outside a Fresno apartment on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

2 hours ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Transgender Military Ban, for Now

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend