Trump Budget Blueprint Migration-Related Spending

Trump Requests Increased Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Spending in
FY '18 Budget Blueprint

Thursday, March 16, 2017

President Donald J. Trump has delivered his first budget to Congress.  He did so in an abbreviated volume, delivered to Congress this morning, that foreshadows a much larger set of documents that the Administration will deliver to Congress in May.  Today's request asks Congress to dramatically increase spending for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).  It also will ask for significant increases in spending for immigration court functions within the Department of Justice.  And it calls for the elimination of a longtime account that funds emergency refugee and migration assistance.

The document released today, titled, "America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again," is 62 pages long and contains quite a bit of language relating to immigration enforcement and border security funding.  However, it contains few (if any) specifics on refugee-, human trafficking-, unaccompanied alien child-, immigration services-related matters..  Indeed, the word "refugee" only appears in the document twice and the words "unaccompanied" or "trafficking" never appear in the document.  But the word "alien" appears seven times and the word "border" appears on 22 occasions.

In addition to submitting his FY 18 Budget Blueprint, the President has also submitted a supplemental appropriations request for FY 17 that  includes an ask for $30 BILLION in additional FY 17 funding for the Department of Defense and $3 BILLION for the Department of Homeland security. 

The DHS portion of the supplemental request includes $1.5 BILLION in additional funding to help pay the costs for the construction of a wall between the United States and Mexico, $1.2 BILLION to pay for detention, transportation, and removal of illegal aliens, and for alternatives to detention; $76 million to build hiring capacity to recruit and bring on board 10,000 ICE agents and officers; $5 million for homeland security investigations intelligence activities; and $5 million to support the expansion of the Section 287(g) Program.

The Big Picture.  As expected, the overall, the President's Budget Blueprint requests a $54 BILLION increase in defense spending, to be offset by a $54 BILLION decrease in non-defense discretionary funding.   Indeed, because the President is  proposing to increase spending for the Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement and border security functions by $4.5 BILLION, the President is actually requesting a decrease of $58.5 BILLION in non-immigration enforcement-related non-defense discretionary spending.  Indeed, the President boasts about the magnitude of some of the cuts, asserting in a message to Congress that is included in the Blueprint that his budget "includes deep cuts to foreign aid," justifying it by declaring, "It is time to prioritize the security and well being of Americans, and to ask the rest of the world to step up and pay its fair share."

Message to Congress.  In a message to Congress that is contained within the Blueprint, the President asserts, "My Budget Blueprint for 2018:

• Defense Increases.  provides for one of the largest increases in defense spending without increasing the debt;
  

 

• DOJ and DHS Increases.  significantly increases the budget for immigration enforcement at the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security;
  

 

• The Wall, Immigration Judges, Detention, and Enforcement Personnel. includes additional resources for a wall on the Southern border with Mexico, immigration judges, expanded detention capacity, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Border Patrol; 
  

 

• Crime Reduction.  increases funding to address violent crime and reduces opioid abuse; and
  

 

• America First.  puts America first by keeping more of America’s hard-earned tax dollars here at home."
  

Department of Homeland Security FY '18 Funding.  The Budget Blueprint proposes $4.5 BILLION in additional funding for DHS's immigration Functions:

• Interior Immigration Enforcement Funding.  With respect to funding for DHS's ICE, the Budget Blueprint proposes "an additional $1.5 billion above the 2017 annualized CR level for expanded detention, transportation, and removal of illegal immigrants." 

The Budget Blueprint asserts that "These funds would ensure that DHS has sufficient detention capacity to hold prioritized aliens, including violent criminals and other dangerous individuals, as they are processed for removal."

• Border Security Funding.  With respect to funding for border security, the Blueprint proposes "investing $2.6 billion in high-priority tactical infrastructure and border security technology, including funding to plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border as directed by the President’s January 25, 2017 Executive Order." 
  

The Blueprint justifies the spending by asserting that "This investment would strengthen border security, helping stem the flow of people and drugs illegally crossing the U.S. borders."

• Additional Border and Interior Personnel. In addition to the $4.1 BILLION in additional funding listed above, the Budget Blueprint proposes spending $314 MIILLION "to recruit, hire, and train 500 new Border Patrol Agents and 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement personnel in 2018, plus associated support staff."
  

The Budget Blueprint justifies the funding by asserting that "These new personnel would improve the integrity of the immigration system by adding capacity to interdict those aliens attempting to cross the border illegally, as well as to identify and remove those already in the United States who entered illegally."

• Funding to Expand the Use of the E-Verify System.  The Budget Blueprint proposes $15 MILLION "to begin implementation of mandatory nationwide use of the E-Verify Program."
  

The Blueprint asserts that "This investment would strengthen the employment verification process and reduce unauthorized employment across the U.S."

Department of Justice FY '18 Funding.  The Budget Blueprint proposes a number of increases in spending for the Department of Justice's immigration functions:

• Immigration Courts Funding.  With respect to funding for the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Budget Blueprint proposes "an increase of nearly $80 MILLION, or 19 percent above the 2017 annualized CR level, to hire 75 additional immigration judge teams to bolster and more efficiently adjudicate removal proceedings — bringing the total number of funded immigration judge teams to 449."

• Resources for Prosecution of Immigration Violators.  The Budget Blueprint proposes an unspecified amount of funding in the Department of Justice to "Enhance border security and immigration enforcement by providing 60 additional border enforcement prosecutors and 40 deputy U.S. Marshals for the apprehension, transportation, and prosecution of criminal aliens.

• Land Acquisition and Immigration Litigation.  The Budget Blueprint proposes an unspecified amount to "Support the addition of 20 attorneys to pursue Federal efforts to obtain the land and holdings necessary to secure the Southwest border and another 20 attorneys and support staff for immigration litigation assistance."
  

• Short-Term Detention Space.  The Budget Blueprint proposes "providing $171 million above the 2017 annualized CR level for additional short-term detention space to hold Federal detainees, including criminal aliens, parole violators, and other offenders awaiting trial or sentencing.
  

• Elimination of SCAAP.  The Budget Blueprint proposes eliminating the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), thus saving $210 MILLION each year.
  

The Blueprint justifies the cut by calling the program "poorly targeted" and asserts that "two-thirds of the funding primarily reimburses four States for the cost of incarcerating certain illegal criminal aliens."

• Sanctuary Jurisdictions.  The Budget Blueprint asserts that "the Administration is concerned about so-called sanctuary jurisdictions and will be taking steps to mitigate the risk their actions pose to public safety.
  

State Department and Humanitarian Assistance FY '18 Funding.  With respect to funding for the Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the President's FY '18 Budget Blueprint would fund the Department of State and USAID at $37.6 BILLION.  This would be comprise of $25.6 BILLION in base funding and an additional $12.1 BILLION in funding from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account.  The amount requested in base funding would represent a $10.1 BILLION, or 28 percent, reduction from the annualized Continuing Appropriations level. 

With specific regard to refugees, the Blueprint notes:

• ERMA.  The proposed elimination of the Emergency Refugee Migration Assistance (ERMA) account.  It justifies this by asserting that it is "a duplicative and stovepiped account,"
  

• MRA and IDA.  The materials do not provide enough specificity to determine what the FY '18 Budget Blueprint is proposing for the Department of State's Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and International Disaster Assistance (IDA) accounts.
  

• The Blueprint notes that the President's FY '18 Budget "Allows for significant funding of humanitarian assistance, including food aid, disaster, and refugee program funding. This would focus funding on the highest priority areas while asking the rest of the world to pay their fair share."  It also notes that the Budget "challenges international and non-governmental relief organizations to become more efficient and effective."

FY '17 Supplemental Funding Request.  The President formally submitted a FY '17 Supplemental request to Congress on Thursday, March 16th for $3 BILLION in DHS funding.  The request breaks down as follows:

• $11 million for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management Operations and
  Support to establish a real-time data integration system that would support immigration enforcement operations, benefits adjudication, policy analysis, accurate data reporting, and for other border and immigration modeling analyses.
  

• $286 million for CBP Operations and Support, including $95 million to support border
  surge operations, $65 million to build hiring capacity to recruit and [bring] on board 5,000 Border Patrol agents, $18 million for project management, oversight, and support for the border wall, $43 million to enhance situational awareness at the border, and $64 million for other technology, equipment, and infrastructure investments that directly contribute to the effectiveness of border security operations.
  

 

• $1.4 billion for CBP Procurement, Construction, and Improvements, including $999 million for planning, design, and construction of the first installment of the border wall, $179 million for access roads, gates, and other tactical infrastructure projects, and $200 million for border security technology deployments.

 

• $1.2 billion for ICE Operations and Support, including $1.15 billion to pay for detention,
  transportation, and removal of illegal aliens, and for alternatives to detention; $76 million to build hiring capacity to recruit and [bring] on board 10,000 ICE agents and officers; $5 million for homeland security investigations intelligence activities; and $5 million to support the expansion of the Section 287(g) Program.

 

• $25 million for Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Operations and Support for the hiring and training of instructors to support law enforcement officer hiring and training within CBP and ICE.

 

• $63 million for Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Procurement, Construction,
  and Improvements for infrastructure investments, including modular dormitory and
  classroom buildings, which would support law enforcement officer hiring and training at CBP and ICE.

What is at Stake.  The submission of the President's Budget Blueprint marks the official start to the fiscal year 2018 budget and appropriations season, even while Congress is still struggling with how to begin the fiscal year 2017 season to an end.

At stake in the budget and spending battles that will be launched with the submission of the President’s Budget Blueprint will be the important questions of how much money will be spent in the coming fiscal year for the nation’s immigration-, border security- and refugee-related departments, agencies, offices, functions, programs, and activities.  But also at stake are a number of important immigration- and refugee-related policy matters, including policy on such issues as the treatment of unaccompanied alien children from Central American and elsewhere who wind up in federal custody; the fate of the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative; the question of how many, if any, refugees the United States will admit during the year; and whether the Trump Administration will be able to secure the funds to advance the President’s aggressive policy directives to dramatically increase detention and deportations and construct a wall between the United States and Mexico.

All of these battles will unfold and be fought in the coming months.

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See Also:

• America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again
  
• Trump FY '17 Supplemental Request for DHS

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