Trump presses Dems with border demands

Donald Trump has Democrats in an almost impossible position at the border.

To cope with the influx of migrants entering the United States, the White House is asking Congress for billions of dollars in emergency funding. But House Democrats are unwilling to simply hand over money after condemning Trump's rhetoric and anti-immigrant politics over the past two years.

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They also do not want to ignore a growing humanitarian crisis.

"So you're creating chaos and asking for more money?" Said Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Deputy Speaker of the House Democratic Caucus, about the White House's approach.

Nevertheless, the Democrats are struggling to know how to deal with the deteriorating situation on the southern border – in particular without legitimizing Trump's harsh immigration stance or reinforcing his argument for a massive border wall, that they try to block in the courts.

Progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) strongly oppose Trump's request, saying in an interview that "this administration has not proven that it deserves a dollar more" until That all families are reunited. More moderate Democrats argue that funding is needed to help the thousands of Central American migrants in search of asylum.

The result will likely be a weeklong battle within the Democratic Caucus that will expose deep divisions on immigration and complicate the next big fight for Washington funding. And as Trump gets ready for his reelection campaign, the problem will only get worse.

The White House insisted that more money was needed for food, water and medical care to ensure humane treatment for migrants held in US facilities along the border.

But Democrats say the Department of Homeland Security's own policies have undermined their faith, especially as officials have quietly continued to separate some families at the border.

"I will not support any funding requests at this time," said Representative Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.). "I'm not ready to go. I can not trust them. "

Democratic leaders are extremely aware of the optics. They in no way want to be seen as evidence of Trump's long-standing statement that there is a security crisis at the border.

And in addition to fueling the president's speech, this move could undermine the Democrats' legal efforts to end Trump's national emergency declaration, which he uses to try to divert funds from other parts of the government to Trump. his wall.

But Democrats say they are horrified by the humanitarian disaster at the border and recognize that action is needed.

"It's not that we try to validate or not to validate [Trump’s claims]there are a lot of people on the border, "said Representative Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat representing a district on the border between Texas and Mexico.

"I do not call it a security crisis, I call it a humanitarian crisis," he added. "So the question is how can we solve this problem?"

Administration officials have reported a growing sense of desperation. The White House's letter to this week's Congress warned that the situation was "different from anything we've ever seen."

According to border authorities, one of the most worrying trends is the slight increase in the number of unaccompanied children. This figure has increased by almost 50% so far this year, compared to the same period last year.

And last week, it was confirmed that a third child had died in American custody since December.

The lack of a unified response from House Democrats was fully highlighted at the annual caucus retreat in mid-April.

President Nancy Pelosi and other great Democrats have faced many questions about rising numbers of immigrants. They largely avoided taking sides.

But a complete reform of immigration is not going anywhere. The Democrats do not intend to immediately introduce such a bill in the House and, even if it was passed in the House, it would run up against a wall in a Senate controlled by the GOP.

Pelosi objected at the end of last week when she was asked whether she supported Trump's additional request, saying instead that it was up to Congressional adopters to reach an agreement.

"The committee will decide what it wants to propose," Pelosi told POLITICO. "As I always say, left to their own devices, bipartite cooperation in the Credit Committee will lead us to a path."

The White House insists that Congress approve its $ 4.5 billion request as soon as possible, warning that some agencies – such as the Refugee and Resettlement Office, who has managed the consequences of the policy of separation of families – could run out of money within a month.

Democrats are skeptical.

"They clearly have the will and the desire to dig into every sofa cushion," Ocasio-Cortez said, citing Trump's attempts to mix money to finance the wall of the border. "If they want to starve the refugee office, it's not Congress's fault."

Democrats sitting in the House have indicated that they are willing to approve humanitarian aid, although they are skeptical about approving requests for additional detention beds for ICE, which could, according to they, be used to expand family detention.

Many lawmakers also say that the money that has been approved should only be provided under certain conditions.

"What is frustrating is that they are diverting money everywhere and now want Congress to embrace changes in Homeland Security and politics," said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif .) In an interview. "It's ridiculous."