The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a bill that could further send $4.5 billion to alleviate substandard humanitarian conditions in migrant facilities at the southwestern border. However, Democratic lawmakers are divided on the provisions in the bill that many feel give President Trump too much leeway to use the funds to increase border enforcement, as reported by the New York Times.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with several congressional Democrats on Monday evening to discuss the rift over the bill which, if passed, could quickly send money to several migrant programs that are running out of cash. Many progressive Democrats wanted further restrictions in the legislation that would stop Trump from being able to funnel the funds toward border enforcement programs. Others felt that the humanitarian crisis at the border mandated that they no longer delay the bill, however imperfect. Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y, encouraged voting on the bill in its current form to expedite funding to aid migrants saying, “We cannot allow our anger at this president to blind us to the horrific conditions at facilities along the border as the agencies run out of money.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stated ahead of the evening meeting with Pelosi her intent to refuse to vote on the bill in its current form saying, “I will not fund another dime to allow ICE to continue its manipulative tactics.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., expressed doubt that the president would adhere to any restrictions in the bill as it was currently written. She felt that Trump would likely ignore the legislation to promote his own border enforcement agenda saying, “We all want to address the problems at the border, but we don’t know that there are enough sticks in this bill to make sure that the Trump administration actually spends the money the way they’re supposed to.”
While Democrats feel that the bill gives Trump too much power, House Republicans object to the current bill’s refusal to acknowledge back pay to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as well as other restrictions. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., who serves as the senior Republican on the panel overseeing the bill said, “You will see just about every Republican in the House vote against the Democratic supplemental bill.”
The Senate, meanwhile, has pending legislation with far fewer restrictions on the presidential administration that would quickly send $4.6 to the border.
A White House statement expressed that Trump would likely veto the House bill in its current form saying that it “does not provide adequate funding to meet the current crisis,” and that it, “contains partisan provisions designed to hamstring the administration’s border enforcement efforts.”
Democrats Ocasio-Cortez, Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan, Ilhan Omar, Minnesota, and Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts, issued a joint statement further stating their refusal to negotiate the bill saying, “It is absolutely unconscionable to even consider giving one more dollar to support this president’s deportation force that openly commits human rights abuses and refuses to be held accountable to the American people.”
