TOPICS
TOPICS
Homeland Security would get boost under Obama budget
President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget request for the Homeland Security Department will boost funding for technology and border agents along the southwest border, as well as to find and deport criminal illegal immigrants inside the country.
It represents a shift away from some of the most controversial efforts under the Bush administration, such as building fencing and barriers along the border and going after undocumented workers who pose no criminal or national security threat.
Nearly $200 million would be allocated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct enforcement actions against criminal illegal immigrants -- a 30 percent increase over current levels.
About $70 million would be provided to hire about 350 new special agents and criminal investigators to establish a new border violence intelligence group and improve coordination efforts with the Mexican government.
"There are a couple of things we are going to have a prayer meeting about, but I think basically it's a good budget," said House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Price, D-N.C. "We are going to examine it in detail and talk about it with all of our colleagues."
The budget doubles funding to stop illicit cash and firearms from being smuggled from the United States to Mexican drug cartels. Nearly $50 million would be used to hire 44 more Border Patrol agents and 65 Customs and Border Protection officers for the effort.
Additionally, the administration is seeking $112 million -- or a 12 percent increase over current spending -- for the so-called E-Verify program, which employers can use to verify the legal status of their workers.
Immigration reform advocates hailed the new measures Wednesday, saying they prove the administration will be tough on border security, which they say is prerequisite for Congress to pass legislation that gives about 12 million illegal immigrants in the country a path to legally work in the country.
And the budget proposes to increase funding for the Transportation Security Administration by 12 percent over current levels to $7.5 billion. About $1 billion of that would be used to buy new scanning machines at airports.
Humberto Sanchez contributed to this report.
COMMENTS
- Career Fedagent: Jose is right. Maybe you should read the article again. The reference to stopping "...illicit cash and firearms from being smuggled from the United States to Mexican drug cartels" only referred to hiring more Border Patrol agents and CBP Officers at the border, not ICE special agents to conduct criminal investigations. The only reference to ICE was in regards to immigration enforcement, and no mention was made of traditional Customs investigations, including narcotics smuggling, money laundering, commercial fraud, illegal exports, and so forth. Looks like the priorities of the new administration will be similar to those of the previous administration, when it comes to ICE. ICEd Posted June 1, 2009 12:56 PM
- Jose, did you not read the whole article or did you see only what you have wanted to see and deny from day one. The following sentence is taken from this article-as you can see it also references Customs related enforcement "The budget doubles funding to stop illicit cash and firearms from being smuggled from the United States to Mexican drug cartels". get over it.. Career Fedagent Posted May 11, 2009 12:39 PM
- These "Border Intelligence Groups" are a titanic waste of resources, dumping grounds for bad officers, many overpaid. It is rare any of them produce anything usable, usually they just gum up ongoing capers. Old Bunny Posted May 10, 2009 10:37 AM
