The Trump administration plans to use the TSA's funds for the border: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Department of Homeland Security plans to raise more than $ 230 million from the Transportation Security Administration to fund border operations if Congress does not approve additional funding, an informed official said on this subject.

NBC News announced the plan earlier, citing emergency plan documents to fund $ 1.1 billion at the border.

The US House Credit Committee said on Tuesday that it had not received a notification from DHS that it was considering transferring existing funds.

NBC News said the TSA could transfer $ 50 million set aside for the purchase of advanced control equipment at airports and $ 64 million to a workers' compensation fund for injured TSA employees.

On May 1, the White House asked Congress for $ 4.5 billion in emergency funding to deal with the growing number of people crossing the southwestern border with Mexico.

DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton said in a statement Tuesday that the agency "is considering all options to deal with the humanitarian and security crisis on the southern border and we will continue to work with our employees to find dynamic solutions and funding to solve this very serious problem. "

Houlton said the agency was exploring "tax mechanisms that will ensure the safety and well-being of our labor force and the migrant population, which is also reflected in the additional demand submitted to Congress."

Last week, the TSA confirmed its intention to reassign its staff to the southern border of the United States to facilitate the tasks related to immigration and the flow of migrants.

A spokesman for the TSA said the agency was looking for volunteers to support efforts at the border with Mexico, where the government said it was struggling with a record number of people.

The TSA workforce will include 175 law enforcement officers, including air police officers, and nearly 400 security guards from six unnamed US cities, but will not include police officers. airport control officers, CNN reported last week, citing two unnamed additional sources.

Officers have apprehended nearly 99,000 people crossing the Mexican border in April, a record number since 2007, the US government announced earlier this month. More than two-thirds were children or people traveling with their families.

Earlier this month, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the deployment of 186 additional CBP officers to assist border patrol officers in areas along the southwestern border. after previously relocated more than 300 airport agents, border control points and other places.