GOP to deny bulk of Obama request for increased funds for migrant crisis
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Version 0 of 1. Republicans in the House of Representatives are planning to deny the White House the vast bulk of its request for resources to manage the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally into the US. Instead, Republicans have coalesced around a plan to provide President Barack Obama’s administration with a significantly slimmed-down package designed to help agencies cope with the thousands of Central American children arriving at the border over the summer. Legislation unveiled to the House GOP during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, authorises only $659m, far less than the $3.7bn Obama requested weeks ago or the $2.7bn that would be released in a rival Democratic bill in the Senate. And it is less than half the $1.5bn that a working group set up by the Republican House speaker, John Boehner, recently suggested needed to be spent to manage the border crisis. According to multiple sources in Tuesday’s meeting, the bill (pdf), which appears to have the support of the majority of House Republicans, will also tweak an 2008 anti-trafficking law that critics say significantly slows the deportation of children arriving from Central American countries. Democrats are opposed to tweaking the anti-trafficking law, arguing it contains important provisions that guard against sex trafficking and ensure due process for children who may have valid claims for refugee status. The White House expressed frustration over the bill. “It falls well short of the resource request that this administration has put forward,” said Josh Earnest, Obama’s press secretary said. The bill will be put to a vote in the House on Thursday, shortly before members are scheduled to leave for a five-week recess. More than 57,000 unaccompanied children have arrived at the southwestern border from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras since last October, a major spike, although the rate has declined significantly in recent weeks. Hal Rogers, the Republican chair of the House appropriations committee and co-author of the bill, said the funds it makes available to the administration were curtailed partly because the legislation is intended only to get the administration through the fiscal year, which ends in September. The issue would be revisited in the Fall. However, speaking to reporters after he unveiled his plan to his fellow Republicans, Rogers conceded that much of the reduction was intended to placate fiscal conservatives in his party. Conservative Republicans, who have been the most vocal and trenchant critics of the border crisis are, conversely, those most opposed to spending money to manage the crisis. Several emerged from the meeting on Tuesday saying they would not back the package, in large part because it provides extra funding to the Obama administration, which they say cannot be trusted. Instead of releasing extra resources to enable the administration to handle the surge in young migrants – and more quickly repatriate them – conservative Republicans were arguing for a resolution that would condemn Obama’s immigration policies. John Fleming, a Republican from Louisiana, said he would back nothing more than the minimal funds required to keep relevant agencies going through the summer. “Beyond that, I don’t see any purpose spending a lot of money allowing the president to continue his malicious activities with our immigration laws,” he said. Despite reluctance in conservative quarters, sources close to the Republican leadership said they believed the bill would pass – and that it could get some support from Democrats who represent border states. “I think there’s sufficient support in the House to move this bill,” Boehner said after the meeting. “We’ve got a little more work to do, though.” However, it is unclear whether Senate Democrats would accept the Republican legislation – or whether a middle-ground between the two competing bills can be reached. Congress is due to go into recess at the end of the week, setting up a potential showdown over the border crisis, with both sides eager to show they are willing to take practical action. “I think we’ve got the votes to pass this in the House. I trust and hope the Senate will take that bill,” Rogers said. “Am I optimistic? I want to be.” Two thirds of the money in the bill, according to sources involved in its drafting, relates to border security. It will double the money available to the National Guard, pay for more judges and video conference facilities to deal with immigration hearings, and supply more equipment – particularly vehicles. It should pay for roughly 6,000 extra beds for children. Around a third is categorised as funding for “humanitarian” purposes – the care of the children, many of whom are fleeing violence and extreme poverty in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras. Granger said one key objective was to move children off the military bases that have been converted into temporary detention facilities. The legislation does not include two provisions included in the Senate bill as sweeteners to attract votes, funding to deal with wild fires and additional support for Israel’s iron dome defence system. |