Is American Prez Biden dangling border security money?

US President Joe Biden | Picture: P.A.

US President Joe Biden is trying to soften his pitch for more money for Ukraine by injecting billions of dollars to secure the US-Mexico border, hoping it will attract more Republicans.

The idea emerged late last month, after aid to Ukraine was cut as a stopgap measure to keep the government running amid growing Republican resistance to funding the effort. of war. Much has changed since September 30: the House lost its speaker and Republicans are in disarray over the selection of a new speaker, and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 prompted a demand much greater funding from the White House.

It’s not at all clear that including about $14 billion in border money as part of the $106 billion spending package the White House sent to Congress on Friday will appease those who are resisting.

“The border has never been about money,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. “It’s always been about politics. So we need to get in a room, go to the White House and sort this out. »

The conflict in the Middle East may have distracted attention from the U.S.-Mexico border for now, but the migration challenges facing the United States are becoming increasingly intractable. Democratic leaders, both nationally and locally, are calling for federal aid to help care for migrant families living in squalid shelters and sleeping in police stations. Republicans sharply criticize Biden’s border policy, calling it too lax. And Congress hasn’t passed immigration reform in decades.

There are growing numbers of migrants at the border and Biden has repeatedly said Congress should act to fix outdated immigration laws. But in the meantime, his administration has crafted policies aimed at deterring migrants from undertaking the dangerous and often deadly journey, while opening new avenues for legal immigration.

The funding request is an attempt not only to manage people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, but also to deal with the growing number of migrants who are already here, waiting for their cases to be resolved.

The White House proposal includes $1.6 billion to hire 1,600 new asylum officers and processing staff, which could double the number of people working on asylum cases. It also suggests $1.4 billion to hire 375 immigration judges and their teams, in addition to money for 1,300 new Border Patrol agents. There is $4.4 billion for homeland security efforts, including increased funding for detention centers as the administration works to quickly expel those who do not qualify for asylum .

“It’s a real effort and recognition of the backlog that exists,” said Colleen Putzel, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, an immigration think tank.

There is also a request for $1.3 billion for regional migration centers outside the United States, a new effort negotiated by the Biden administration to encourage potential migrants to stay where they are and apply for immigration. asylum before crossing the deadly Darien divide between South and Central America.

The request also includes $1.4 billion to help state and local governments provide shelter and services to migrants, following calls from Democratic mayors and governors for more help to care for newly arrived migrants .

But New York City alone expects to spend more than $5 billion on the issue by the end of the budget year. More than 130,600 asylum seekers have passed through the city’s reception system since 2022 and there has been criticism of their living conditions.

New York Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Mexico to implore would-be migrants not to come. He accused the Biden administration of not providing enough money or resources to the city to process migrants, telling reporters this summer: “The president and the White House have failed New York City on this issue “.

In Chicago, O’Hare International Airport now houses hundreds of migrants, from babies to elderly people, in a shuttle center. They sleep on cardboard mattresses on the floor and share airport toilets.

“The governor has been clear about the state’s urgent need for additional federal resources to address this crisis,” said Alex Gough, speaking on behalf of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat. “While we hope the Biden administration will be able to take further action soon, allocating any new funding would require GOP members in the House to get their act together and do their job.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the money was “urgently needed for states like Massachusetts that are experiencing a historic increase in migrant arrivals, and we appreciate the Biden administration’s recognition that these funds must be distributed more equitably.

It is unclear how a spending plan could be adopted. “House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been ousted by his Republican colleagues and there is no leader in sight.” Republicans already oppose using the funds to help people already in the country, rather than to limit the number of people at the border. A group of Republican senators met Thursday to discuss which proposals they would support.

After a classified briefing with administration officials Wednesday, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he would be inclined to support money for Israel and Ukraine as long as there was a strong component border security. “But it must be designed to secure the border, not to facilitate passage across the border,” he said.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn posted online Friday his support for aid to Israel and Ukraine. “But without meaningful and substantive policy changes that will resolve the #BidenBorderCrisis, this aid is in serious jeopardy,” he posted on the X platform. “More money should not be spent simply to facilitate current border policy. »

It is not yet clear whether a compromise is possible on this issue.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who heads a Senate committee overseeing funding for the Department of Homeland Security, was wary of mixing any effort to overhaul border policy into a spending debate.

“How are we going to resolve our immigration differences in the next two weeks? » asked Murphy. “This is a supplemental funding bill. The moment you start loading it with politics, it looks like a failed plan.

Crenshaw, the Texas Republican, said he agreed with all three priorities in the president’s proposal: Ukraine, Israel and the border. “Conceptually, we are on the right track. »

But he added: “The sticking point is going to be in the details. The border is not about money; there is money to spend on certain things, but it is much more a question of politics. We will therefore emphasize very clearly that the policy must be effective. When I say this, I am talking about the reform of asylum law.”