President Biden Sends a Request to Congress for Blank Check to Fund Border Crisis
August 15, 2023
In an acknowledgment that the southern border is in a state of crisis, President Biden sent a request to Capitol Hill on August 10 seeking over $4 billion for emergency supplemental funding to “manage the Southwest border safely and effectively.” Notably, the request does not include funding to finish the border wall or include any changes to the law which would ultimately fix many of the problems that have arisen since Biden took office.
In the supplemental budget request, the President has asked for a total of $40 billion, much of which would go to efforts in Ukraine. The $4 billion request for border security would include 2.65 billion for border management and shelter and services for illegal aliens, $416 million for fentanyl trafficking efforts, $800 million for Department of State migration services activities, and $100 million to enforce child labor laws and protect migrant children from exploitive conditions. On top of the border security funding, $100 million is requested for Ukrainian refugees in the United States.
The President’s request for $600 million for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is clearly a band-aid and an effort to fund non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their efforts to provide assistance – including housing, food, clothing, and transportation services to illegal border crossers. The additional funding comes for SSP comes after hundreds of millions of dollars have already been allocated to the program and its predecessor, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). In May 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General released a report showing that funds allocated to EFSP for illegal aliens were being mismanaged and recommending additional oversight of those funds.
https://www.fairus.org/blog/2023/08/15/president-biden-sends-request-congress-blank-check-fund-border-crisis
