Obama Asks for $3.7 Billion to Aid Border

*The easy, impulsive thing is to do quick math and say that the President wants to spend roughly $52,000 per immigrant child to deal with the crisis on the border. But that unthinking math falls short of understanding the situation. For instance: $1.8 billion will be used to provide care for the immigrant minors; $300 million will be used to spread media messages in Central American countries, dispelling rumors about how the children will be offered a “free ride” in the U.S.; there will be money spent on hiring more immigration lawyers and Border Patrol agents; and some of the funds will go towards infrastructure. And then there’s the idea that the administration is sand-bagging the aid budget to set-up a negotiation platform with Congress. It sound like a lot, but in a $4 trillion national budget, $3.7 billion is a drop in the bucket. VL

By Michael D. Shear and Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times

 

WASHINGTON – President Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to quickly provide almost $4 billion to confront a surge of young migrants from Central America crossing the border into Texas, calling it “an urgent humanitarian situation.”

But the request quickly became entangled ni the fierce political debate over immigration: Republicans said they were wary of Mr. Obama’s request and could not immediately support it, given what they called the administration’s failure to secure the Mexican border after years of illegal crossings. Mr.Obama could face resistance from members of his own party as well.

Mr.Obama said he needed the money to set up new detention facilities, conduct more aerial surveillance and hire immigration judges and Border Patrol agents to respond to the flood of 52,000 children. Their sudden mass migration has overwhelmed local resources and touched off protests from residents angry about the impact on the local economy.

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[Photo courtesy office of Rep. Henry Cuellar]

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