On Sunday, lawmakers in Washington released the first major bipartisan bill to reform immigration policy in a decade.
The nation already spends more money on border policing than at any other point in its history.
In the last two decades, Customs and Border Protection’s budget has almost tripled and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s budget has doubled.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security pays for over 19,000 Border Patrol agents, a similar number of ICE officers and expensive contracts with private companies that quickly sift through enormous amounts of data.
The bill, which President Biden supports, would set aside nearly $4 billion for Customs and Border Protection, the Homeland Security division that includes Border Patrol, to prepare for a “migration surge” by hiring new staff members, reimbursing the Defense Department for its help and paying for Border Patrol agents’ overtime.
Persons:
Mike Johnson, Biden
Organizations:
Border, Customs, Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Homeland Security, Defense Department
Locations:
Washington, United States