The White House wants $ 8.6 billion for 300 miles of border fence in the 2020 budget



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Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan said Tuesday that the White House will submit to Congress this week its $ 8.6 billion request in the 2020 budget for the construction of an additional 300-mile barrier border. .

"The south-west border still has no permanent wall and persistent knowledge of the area in vulnerable areas.The budget for fiscal year 2020 requires $ 8.6 billion in funding from DHS and the DOD for the construction of about 300 miles of a new border wall system, "according to McAleen's remarks hearing from the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

Demand would be by far the largest amount of money Congress has donated to DHS for physical improvements at the US-Mexico border. In the previous three years of funding, Congress has allocated $ 3 billion to DHS. In 2017, legislators gave the department $ 341 million for 40 miles of gates construction. That number jumped in 2018 and 2019 to reach $ 1.375 billion a year.

This $ 8.6 billion would be in addition to the $ 6.6 billion that President Trump has attempted to reallocate 2019 budgets from non-DHS departments to build a border wall earlier this year.

The White House budget requested $ 51.7 billion in net discretionary funding for DHS.

The newly appointed DHS temporary chief also plans to ask Congress for an additional $ 500 million to support the department's response to the southern border, where a record number of immigrant families continue to arrive each month.

McAleenan said the ministry was planning to "deplete our resources" by September 30, the end of fiscal year 2019. McAleenan, who recently led Customs and Border Protection at the end of the year. United States, announced that it would send this request to lawmakers this week.

According to Mr. McAleenan, the additional $ 500 million will be used to set up temporary and semi-permanent "soft liner" or "tent" facilities on the southern border. The facilities would probably be used to keep immigrant families waiting for asylum.

The Trump administration can not legally prohibit old families more than 20 days due to a court decision rendered in 2015 in the Flores colony. She had to release hundreds of thousands of family units since October.

Temporary facilities could allow families to stay together while their affairs are hastily reviewed by the immigration court system.

That $ 500 million would not be an extension of $ 200 million in humanitarian money that legislators gave to DHS in February to end the partial closure of the government, said a congressional aide. Washington Examiner Tuesday evening.

In February, Congress awarded $ 128 million to CBP medical staff, $ 40 million to food, infant formula and diapers, and $ 24 million to the cost of transporting patrolled migrants. border.

We do not know how CBP spent the $ 200 million or how much is left.

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