Campaign Action
Hungry but unable to leave your home because you’re disabled or elderly? Too bad. Donald Trump’s first budget is out, and federal funding for life-changing programs like Meals on Wheels has been slashed in order to accommodate a $4 billion request for his nationwide immigration crackdown. That includes nearly $3 billion for a massive border wall. A greatest-hit at Trump rallies throughout the campaign was that Mexico was going to be footing the bill, but it should now be clear to his supporters that they’ll be the ones picking up the tab, and now at the expense of senior citizens. So much winning:
President Trump’s first budget provides more than $4.5 billion in new spending to fight illegal immigration — not just by building a wall along the southern border but by adding more than 1,700 border officers, prosecutors and judges.
Beginning work on the wall comes with the biggest outlay — $2.6 billion — followed by $1.5 billion for expanded detention, transportation and removal of illegal immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security estimates the wall will cost $21 billion.
About that $21 billion. That number is nearly triple the estimate that Trump put forward about a year ago, and according to MSNBC, construction costs could actually balloon up to $50 billion “when all is said and done.” And guess what—you’re paying for that too. Trump also wants to divert more funding to beef up ICE and Border Patrol, adding thousands of new immigration agents to speed up deportations, arrest Dreamers, tear apart families fleeing violence, and kick out U.S. Army veterans in need of medical care:
The largest staffing increases would be 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel and 500 new Border Patrol agents — all at a cost of $314 million. In executive orders issued five days after his inauguration, Trump called for adding 10,000 immigration officers and 5,000 border agents.
Overall, the Department of Homeland Security would receive a $2.8 billion, or 7%, increase compared to the current year budget.
- $80 million to hire 75 new immigration judges to handle removal proceedings.
- Hiring 60 additional border enforcement prosecutors and 40 deputy U.S. marshals to catch and transport criminal aliens.
- Hiring 20 new attorneys to obtain land needed to secure the southwest border and another 20 attorneys and staff to handle immigration litigation.
- $15 million to begin implementation of mandatory nationwide use of the E-verify Program, which allows businesses to determine the legal status of new workers.
Immigration policy experts from the Center for American Progress just published a new piece detailing “just a few things that would be a better use of $3 billion,” including creating new jobs, protecting the environment, childcare, and educating our kids:
- Build 184 new elementary schools, at a cost of roughly $16.3 million each.
- Hire just over 55,000 new kindergarten and elementary school teachers, at an annual salary of $54,500 each.
- Pay for nearly 311,000 people to attend a four-year college per year, at an in-state tuition rate of $9,650.
But hey, gotta keep out those “bad hombres,” right?