Dem Budget Bill Would Slash Border Protection Budget by Half Billion Dollars

Senate Democrats are moving to slash the budget for Customs and Border Protection by half a billion dollars in the midst of an immigration crisis, putting more strain on an agency with nearly exhausted resources.

The appropriations bill, released Monday by Sen. Chris Murphy, allocates just $14.5 billion to CBP for the 2022 fiscal year, down from $15 billion the year before and $80 million less than what President Joe Biden requested in his budget.

The bill forbids Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from enforcing immigration laws.

The proposed cuts come as the southern border faces a decades-high surge of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the United States.

Immigration authorities expect to report nearly two million migrant encounters at the border this fiscal year, the first time the number has exceeded one million since 2006.

Senate Democrats in a summary of the bill said cuts to detention centers were warranted by "Lower overall detention numbers due to the pandemic and related-litigation." Between January and August the number of illegal aliens detained by ICE increased by 70 percent, according to data provided by the agency.

The Senate Democrats' proposal represents another blow to an agency already frustrated by the White House's apparent lack of interest in funding border security and migrant processing measures.

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/dem-budget-bill-would-slash-border-protection-budget-by-half-billion-dollars/