DHS budget emphasizes immigration reform, border security
Fiscal 2007 request also includes increases for efforts to detect weapons of mass destruction.
The Homeland Security Department would see its funding increase slightly in fiscal 2007 under President Bush's budget, which includes boosts for domestic nuclear detection efforts and for a controversial guest worker program.
The budget, unveiled Monday, seeks $35.6 billion for DHS. This represents an increase of $2.3 billion over what was requested for 2006.
Significantly, Bush included $536 million for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and $247 million for a temporary worker program for migrants to legally enter the country and work.
Funding for the nuclear detection office would increase by 70 percent over current levels if Congress enacts Bush's request.
Congress has been divided over the administration's plan for a guest worker program. The House passed a border security bill last December without one. Support for the program is stronger in the Senate, which is expected to pass its version of the legislation this year.
The budget indicates that immigration reform and improved border security will be top priorities for the administration.
Specifically, Bush requested about $6.5 billion for Customs and Border Protection and $4.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- the two agencies primarily responsible for border security. At those levels, ICE's budget would increase by 22 percent and CBP's by 12 percent, over fiscal 2006 funding enacted by Congress.
The administration sought more than $3 billion for the Border Patrol, including funds to hire 1,500 additional agents. The request also includes funds to increase the number of beds at detention centers by 6,000 to more than 27,000.
"The administration's plan is to catch all migrants attempting to enter the country illegally, decrease crime rates along the border, allow employers to hire legal foreign workers when no American is willing to take the job, and restore public confidence in the federal government's ability to enforce immigration laws," the budget states.
To make it easier for employers to verify the employment eligibility of their workers, Bush requested $111 million to expand an employment eligibility verification system known as the Basic Pilot Program.
The budget also emphasizes the department's intention to put strings on grants for state and local governments. The department would require every region that gets Urban Area Security Initiative grants to develop and implement a plan for emergency incident-level interoperability.
The budget seeks $838 million for UASI grants and $600 million for a new Targeted Infrastructure Protection grant program. The administration proposed the TIP program last year, but Congress rejected it.
President Bush budgeted a total of $838 million for other state-based grants, including $633 million for homeland security grants, $170 million for emergency management performance grants and $35 million for the Citizen Corps.