No new border wall in proposed DHS spending bill

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A House proposed spending bill would fund the Department of Homeland Security with $61.8 billion in discretionary funding in Fiscal Year 2024, and includes money to hire a record number of Border Patrol agents but none for border wall construction, according to lawmakers.

The FY 2024 House Appropriations bill was finalized Wednesday night and leaders touted it is a bipartisan bill that pairs border security needs with technology advances and offers funds for border communities and nonprofits that help asylum-seekers.

The bill would increase by 78% funding for communities and organizations that help asylum seekers through the Shelter and Services Grant Program, allocating $650 million in Fiscal 2024, up from $363.8 million in Fiscal 2023, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the grants.

“I worked diligently with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to write a bill to fund border security, support border law enforcement, and adequately protect our homeland,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee said Thursday.

“This is a bipartisan compromise that will provide some important new resources to help meet increased operational needs at our border. It’s clear more must be done,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We are ready to address the challenges at our border, invest in making our system work more fairly, safely, and efficiently, and finally get comprehensive immigration reform done.”

Details of the bill were just released Thursday afternoon.

The measure still must pass the full House, full Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden before becoming law.

And given the wranglings by Republicans — accusing the Biden administration of lax border security — there are changes expected in the measure.

However, as it stands now, it would provide $61.8 billion in total discretionary funding to the Department of Homeland Security.

Cuellar said that for the first time since the Trump administration, no federal funds there would be allocated for new federal border wall construction.

“I am proud to have successfully fought to prohibit new funds for border wall construction,” Cuellar said.

Murray says the measure would provide over $400 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to improve the detection and seizure of fentanyl and other narcotics at U.S. ports of entry through non-intrusive inspection equipment, improved labs and more personnel.

Cuellar says it would secure $495 million to fund a record number of 22,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents, and $125 million for increases to Border Patrol overtime pay, which was authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act and signed by the president in December.

Cuellar says the proposed bill also would provide:

• $283.5 million for new border security technology.
• $103.5 million to sustain current border security technology, like autonomous security.
• towers, cross-border tunnel detection, and non-intrusive inspection equipment at CBP ports of entry.
• $20 million to hire an additional 150 CBP officers.
• $91.3 million for refugee resettlement.
• $30 million for family reunification efforts.

In Fiscal Year 2023, there was over $863 billion in trade between the United States and Mexico and leaders say they must continue to open up trade economic opportunities but stem harmful drugs from coming into the United States and cash and caches of weapons from heading south into Mexico.

The proposed spending bill also would allocate $81 million for Operation Stonegarden to provide joint border security efforts with local law enforcement agencies. However, that amount is a drop from the $90 million that was funded for Operation Stonegarden in Fiscal Year 2023, according to DHS.

Migrant advocacy groups responded harshly against the proposed spending bill on Thursday, saying it would increase the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by 13.5% and allow the agency to maintain an average daily detention population of 41,500, up from 34,000 in Fiscal 2023.

“The dangers of this bill cannot be overstated. If passed the bill will undoubtedly lead to suffering for immigrant communities. More funding for ICE and CBP translates to increased targeting and racial profiling, more people in abusive immigration detention, and heightened surveillance of communities nationwide,” Setareh Ghandehari, Detention Watch Network’s advocacy director said.

Border Report has been told the measure is expected to be voted on Friday before the House adjourns for a scheduled two-week recess.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].

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