WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Sunday a border supplemental bill will be introduced in the lower chamber this week to provide funding relief to the humanitarian crisis on the southern border.
Pelosi was quick to mention that the bill would not fund the Trump administration’s policy of mass detention.
“This week, the House will advance strong border legislation, which protects vulnerable children and keeps America safe as it honors our values. Congress continues to insist that families belong together and for immigrant communities to know their rights,” Pelosi said in a statement.
According to Pelosi, the legislation “provides urgently-needed humanitarian assistance for families, including funding for food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and legal assistance, and will relieve the horrific situation of over-crowding and help prevent additional deaths.”
Additionally, the speaker said assistance will be provided to communities to offset the costs of giving humanitarian aid to asylum seekers.
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
Pelosi went on to say, “The legislation protects families. It does not fund the Administration’s failed mass detention policy, but, instead, funds effective, humane alternatives to detention with a proven track record of success. It places strict limits on influx shelters, protects sponsors from DHS immigration enforcement based on information collected by HHS during the vetting process and creates strong oversight by Congress including to protect unaccompanied children.”
It appears both Republicans and Democrats will debate over where funding will be directed, as Republicans say alleviating the humanitarian crisis includes fixing and expanding the detention centers while Democrats believe this is condoning the administration’s border policy.
Republicans have said Pelosi and House Democrats refuse to step up to help ease the overcrowding of immigration processing facilities and detention centers near the border. Republican Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs told reporters Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was about to run out of money and Democrats were resistant to bring forth the border supplemental.
“They’re already running out of money because they don’t have enough money to take care of the detainees right now. There are 45,000 beds that we have a system designed for, but we have 52,000 in ICE custody. So, they’re overtaxed right there and the money is going to run out,” Biggs said. “That’s one of the reasons why we need the supplemental our friends on the other side won’t even bring the supplemental up. And that’s where the money would be.”
I want to give the Democrats every last chance to quickly negotiate simple changes to Asylum and Loopholes. This will fix the Southern Border, together with the help that Mexico is now giving us. Probably won’t happen, but worth a try. Two weeks and big Deportation begins!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2019
President Trump previously announced ICE deportation raids would begin Sunday but announced by Saturday on Twitter that he would hold back the raids to give Congress two weeks to “get together and work out a solution” on the border crisis. (RELATED: ‘DEPORTED’: Trump Doubles Down On ICE Plans To Enforce Deportation Orders)
Pelosi, according to CNN, had spoken Trump Friday night requesting that he call off the raids.
Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125