As Congress seeks to reach a deal on border security that President Trump will sign, a group of freshman progressive House members want their colleagues to reduce funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., are poised to their urge their colleagues to “cut” funding to DHS as Trump calls for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
[Read more: Democrats pitch ‘cutting edge technology,’ but no border wall money]
“We have seen rampant spending on detention facilities for young children. The deal reached by the Conference Committee should not allocate any additional funding to this department or to the [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Customs and Border Protection] agencies. The upcoming FY2020 budget process will be a critical opportunity to take up conversations about reforms to the agency. In the meantime, not another dollar,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter obtained by the Daily Beast that is expected to be read on the House floor next week.
The letter, which also calls for more oversight and mechanisms to stop “slush funds” for detention programs, could complicate negotiations between Democrats and Republicans who are working to reach a deal before Feb. 15, when the federal government is set to partially shut down again if a long-term spending deal is not struck. A bipartisan group of lawmakers met Wednesday to negotiate an agreement.
Democrats have maintained they will not support a bill that provides funding for Trump’s border wall. Trump is adamant he will not sign a bill without the funding and has threatened the use of a national emergency declaration to secure the funding if an agreement remains elusive.
