Posted on 07/09/2014 1:04:20 PM PDT by PoloSec
Republicans will take the political fall if they don't provide emergency funds to address the immigrant crisis at the southern border, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Wednesday.
A number of conservatives on Capitol Hill are pushing back hard against President Obama's request for almost $4 billion to manage the spike of immigrants — thousands of them unaccompanied minors — that's hit the Texas-Mexico border in recent months.
But Graham, a long-time supporter of an immigration system overhaul, said a failure to provide the funds will exacerbate the crisis while handing Obama and the Democrats a political victory ahead of November's midterm elections.
"If we do that, then we’re going to get blamed for perpetuating the problem," Graham told reporters on Wednesday.
Graham said he needs to take a deeper look at Obama's proposal before weighing in on the $3.7 billion package, adding that he wasn't ready yet to get behind any specific policy changes. But he promoted the idea of Democrats and Republicans coming together to approve new funding and to make policy changes that could streamline the deportation process.
"There will be some Republicans who will probably never give in at all," Graham said, adding that some liberals would likely never approve any policy changes.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration requested $3.7 billion to address the wave of immigrants that's overwhelmed the border, flooding detention centers, clogging immigration courts and swamping local governments attempting to manage the tens of thousands of new arrivals.
Obama's proposal includes $1.8 billion for the Health and Human Services Department to provide "appropriate care" for the migrants; $1.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security to beef up its border presence; $300 million for the State Department to help stabilize the Central American countries from which many migrants originate; and $64 million for the Justice Department to hire more immigration judges and asylum lawyers.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are calling for a quick approval of the package, but a number of conservative Republicans are balking. Some of those critics are wary that Obama hasn't offset the costs with changes elsewhere in the budget; others oppose spending so much on processing versus deterrent efforts; and still others are questioning the need for Congress to intervene at all.
“I think it’s a charade," Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) said Wednesday. "I think the president has set it up to make it look as though the only reason he’s not enforcing the border is that he doesn’t have the money, and that’s not accurate."
Graham emphasized that any policy changes must address the underlying problems, not just treat the symptoms once the immigrants arrive. But for Republicans to do nothing, he cautioned, would be a mistake.
"Money is necessary because it truly is an emergency. Our capacity is being overwhelmed here," Graham said. "But if you don’t address the root cause of the problem, you really accomplish nothing other than throw money at it."
Hey Lindsey! Tell your messiah and his ‘RAT comrades to “pony up” the money THEY need. Better yet, Barry is good at fundraisers. He can do fundraisers to raise the money needed to take care of his “children”. Or! They can take it out of the foreign aid we send to Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador. Obviously, THEY don’t need any aid anymore. All of their poor population has come here to Barry’s “fundamentally transformed” America.
Time to clean house.
Hot Flashes Linda? Really thought you had gone through the change already....
“If we do that, then we’re going to get blamed for perpetuating the problem “
Well RINO Graham, spending the taxpayer’s money so that you don’t get blamed (ie political purposes) is not the thing to do. Jerk...
I have trouble with Grahamnesty’s version of reality. It’s like shooting someone on the street and telling a bystander that if he doesn’t pay for the victim to be taken to the hospital, he’ll be guilty of murder.
In a sane society, Lindsey Graham would be taken to an insane asylum and Barack Obama would be impeached.
In a sane country.
Call your fools on The Hill. Tell them to just say, NO!
So he admits he hasn’t read the proposal ( need to take a deeper look comment) but demands the GOP support it?
He’s facing a general election independent challenge by a guy who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute, right? I think I may have just found the scenario where I could actually support a candidate with a background like that.
Tell you what, Linda. $100 million to start. Then an additional $10 million for every 1000 deportations.
As usual Lindsey throws his party under the bus!
L’il Lindsey is a member of the other team still, and always.
So Linda supports giving Obama the money he wants to import and regularize the invaders. This funding will be used to bring in even more illegals and salt them around the country for the November election IMO.
“So he admits he hasn’t read the proposal ( need to take a deeper look comment) but demands the GOP support it?”
Hey, it worked for Nazi Pelosi. You’ve got to pass the bill to find out what’s in it!
Hey Lindsey. Why don’t you morons just do what your messiah does? Blame it all on Bush. It works every time with the idiots living in this country. Low I.Q.s don’t you know.
I got an idea.
Vote enough money for bus tickets and a some brown-bag lunches and send them back.
That’s really what he’s saying, isn’t it?
Thanks for pointing that out. Great analogy.
NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO.
The ONLY money that should be given to any of the fed agencies involved should be used for (a) REAL border patrol and (b) deportation.
That is it.
The GOP should be blamed for not doing something about this a long time ago. Piss off, Graham.
If Congress doesn’t fund they look like the “bad guy”
Alternatively, if Congress had called for troops to the border and Obama didn’t send them Obama would look like the “bad guy”
Republicans yet again fail to SET THE AGENDA and instead respond to the agenda of others. They are betas.
Now comes Graham pushing Obama’s agenda, making Congress look like the “bad guy”. This Is The Uniparty In Action
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