Biden's budget only allocates for 350 extra border guards trends now
President Joe Biden's budget provides $7.3 billion for refugees but only funds an additional 350 border patrol agents to deal with a surge in migrants illegally crossing the northern and southern borders.
Biden's $6.8 trillion plan, which he unveiled on Thursday, makes clear his priorities heading into the next fiscal year.
Included in his plan to hike taxes on the wealthy and corporations to pay for a plethora of social programs is the money for migrants and a mere $40 million to combat fentanyl trafficking, a growing issue of concern for Americans.
US deaths from fentanyl have been on the rise since the 2010s, spiking during Covid-19 and continuing to rise under the Biden presidency. In 2022, 107,000 Americans died of overdose.
President Biden's budget proposal provides $7.3 billion for refugees but only funds an additional 350 border patrol agents - above migrants at the Texas border
But, in a nod to Republicans' call for more border enforcement - an issue they are expected to hammer Biden on in the 2024 election - the president does include funding to fight illegal immigration.
The president's proposal outlines $7.3 billion in funding to the Office of Refugee Resettlement to help respond to the needs of unaccompanied children crossing the border or other humanitarian entrants who need assistance.
His proposal also allocates nearly $25 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s only an $800 million increase over the 2023 budget level.
The increased funding comes as Biden administration officials have said they are expecting a surge in migrants crossing the border illegally once Title 42 is lifted on May 11. The pandemic policy, enacted during Donald Trump's presidency, allowed migrants to be returned across the border swiftly.
The administration says it has been working on other policies to help combat the expected surge, including the possibility of a major U-turn in his immigration policy as administration officials weigh reviving a Trump-era policy detaining families who cross the southern border illegally.
Biden's budget proposes a new $4.7 billion contingency fund to help the Department of Homeland Security deal the surges and more than $1.5 billion to tackle the backlog of over 1.8 million cases pending in the immigration courts.
The funding includes
