House Democrats introduced a bill on Tuesday that would lessen funding to agencies that tackle the crisis at the US-Mexico border amid illegal aliens flooding the border at multi-decade highs.
The bill proposes allocating $14.11 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — $927 million less than the previous fiscal year, according to a press release from the House Appropriations Committee.
Regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the bill seeks a $1.55 million budget decrease.
House Minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) drew the comparison between Democrats’ method of tackling illegal immigration and crime — by defunding those who combat it.
“At a time when there is an out-of-control situation at our border, we need to support our border enforcement officers, not defund them,” McCarthy told the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF). “House Democrats are now applying their socialist ideology to defund the police to the border by advancing legislation to defund our border and immigration enforcement.”
While the bill subjects both ICE and CBP to budget decreases, it provides an additional $170 million for migrant processing centers.
“We must do more to protect immigrants, especially children and their families,” Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement, according to the Daily Caller.
Set for debate on Wednesday in the House Appropriations Committee, this move by Democrats will likely fuel the ongoing criticism by Republicans on the response to the border crisis by both the Democratic Party and the Biden administration.