The House of Representatives yesterday approved a fiscal bill providing for nearly $70 billion in spending for operations against irregular migrants, as part of the mass deportation policy that President Donald Trump has made a top priority of his second term.
The bill, which had already been approved by the Senate last week, allocates roughly $38 billion over the next three years to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), another $26 billion to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and $5 billion for emergency and unforeseen expenses.
It thus guarantees funding for the mass deportation programme endorsed by the Trump administration.
These amounts are in addition to nearly $140 billion in funding already approved last year by Congress, where Republicans hold the majority, to crack down on migration.
The US government is under pressure from hardline supporters on the issue, who criticise it for failing to deliver on its promise of carrying out one million deportations annually.
Tom Homan, one of the architects of the deportation programme, promised yesterday an acceleration of such operations – especially in New York, a traditional Democratic stronghold.
“Blank cheque”
After the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the fact that “Democrats will not be able to defund” ICE and CBP in the coming years.
The bill has been sent to the White House and now only requires President Trump’s signature.
Its adoption follows months of controversy over the practices of ICE and CBP.
Democrats had demanded broad reforms in both agencies, especially after the deaths in Minneapolis in January of Renee Good and Alex Preti, two Americans who were killed by federal agents during protests against anti-immigration operations in the northern US city.
“We believe taxpayers’ dollars should be used to reduce the cost of living for Americans, not to provide another $70 billion blank cheque to ICE,” House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday.
In February, due to Democratic opposition, the Department of Homeland Security experienced budget paralysis for more than 70 days.
Democrats had also called for oversight measures on ICE operations, including requiring agents to wear body cameras.
However, the bill approved yesterday does not include the reforms sought by the opposition.
Several other measures requested by President Trump were also not included in the bill – notably $1 billion he had sought to build a ballroom at the White House.
That request had put several Republicans in a difficult position, as they were reluctant to approve funding for the project, which has been widely criticised.
The bill also excluded funding for a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-politicisation” fund intended to compensate various supporters of Trump whom his administration has described as “victims” of the justice system.
The opposition strongly criticised the proposal, calling it a “slush fund” for Trump supporters, including some who had taken part in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Several Republicans had also rejected the idea.
Source: CNA
