Senate Panel Funds Border Wall, But Continues ‘Catch and Release’

Breitbart ^ | November 21, 2017 | Neil Munro

[re_tail20]

The Senate’s homeland defense budget committee voted to fund President Donald Trump’s $1.6 billion request to build or upgrade 74 miles of border wall but rejected his request for extra funding to repatriate or block more illegal migrants.

The House has already approved the $1.6 billion in border-wall funding, so the Democrats’ next best chance to stop the funding is a vote on the Senate floor.

The wall funding is just 3 percent of the over $51.6 billion bill, which funds all aspects of homeland spending in 2018.

The committee refused to add funding for 850 extra repatriation officers or funding to increase detention space for the rising wave of migrants who claim asylum at the border. Trump had asked for funding to detain 51,379 migrants pending their court hearings, but the GOP and the Democratic Senators kept the funding at the 2017 level of 31,000 spaces. The reduced funding will require officials to release migrants whenever all of the 31,000 detention spaces are occupied.

Trump had asked for $3.6 billion for a larger detention program, but the committee only approved $2.9 billion, up slightly from the 2017 spending of 2.7 billion, said a committee explanation of the spending. Committee members just urged DHS to be more efficient, saying:

The Committee understands that significant detention bed space is required for the removal of aliens but notes that improvements to throughput in the immigration enforcement continuum could reduce the average length of stay for detainees, ultimately requiring fewer detention beds. The Committee directs ICE to continue working with Federal partners, including the Executive Office for Immigration Review, to ensure that aliens are treated fairly while expeditiously moving through the immigration enforcement process.

The GOP-majority panel funded the wall grudgingly and did not seek to accelerate implementation of Trump’s election-winning border-wall...

[rockinqsranch]

We have seen the enemy, and it’s the Senate.

[Menehune56]

The pubbie leadership in congress follows the orders of the donor class. Same as it ever was.

[Sacajaweau]

Here's the trick....I believe they changed the rules for their hearings and they get booted much quicker. No more languishing in jail on our buck.

I know....now I have to go find the new rules.

[stars & stripes forever]

[We have seen the enemy, and it’s the Senate.]

VOTE the obstructionists DEMS & GOPe out of office.

[re_tail20]

Well, I’m just glad the Border Wall funding is over one more Senate hurdle.