President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year — released early Thursday — outlines an aggressive immigration-related plan that focuses on building a wall on the border with Mexico and bolstering the removal of undocumented immigrants.
Trump’s budget would boost military and security spending at the expense of many government agencies, with the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of State facing cuts of roughly 30 percent.
In keeping with those priorities, the budget calls for freeing up billions of dollars for border security and immigration enforcement, which the Trump administration has linked to national security.
The bulk of the immigration-related spending, if Congress approves a budget similar to what Trump proposes, would be for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whose budget would grow by almost 7 percent. DHS is the primary agency overseeing immigration and border protection. The president also called for increasing staffing of immigration judges through the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Since his first week in office in January, Trump has sought to push through campaign promises targeting the country’s undocumented immigrant community — drawing the ire of immigrants’ rights groups.
“[The budget] is a blueprint that advances a mass deportation agenda,” said Kamal Essaheb, director of policy and advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center.
Trump’s proposed budget would:
* Add $2.6 billion for the border wall and “border security technology” (DHS)
* Add $1.5 billion for expanded detention, transportation and removal of undocumented immigrants (DHS)
* Add $314 million to recruit, hire and train 500 new Border Patrol Agents and 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement personnel, plus support staff (DHS)
* Add $171 million for additional short-term detention space to hold federal detainees, including criminal aliens, parole violators, and other offenders awaiting trial or sentencing (DOJ)
* Add $80 million to hire 75 additional immigration judge teams (bringing total number of teams to 449) (DOJ)
* Add $15 million to make the E-Verify system mandatory nationwide (DHS)
* Add 60 additional border enforcement prosecutors and 40 deputy U.S. Marshals for the apprehension, transportation and prosecution of criminal aliens (DOJ)
* Add 20 attorneys to pursue federal efforts to obtain the land and holdings necessary to secure the southwest border and another 20 attorneys and support staff for immigration litigation assistance (DOJ)
* Cut $210 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (DOJ)
* Cut the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance account (Department of State)
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