FAIR Get | March , 2024
A spending bill was passed early on Saturday morning to fully fund the government through Fiscal Year ( FY ) 2024, which ends September 30. In both the Senate and House of Representatives, the act garnered more Democrat than Republican seats. In the Republican- controlled House,  , the bill , failed to gain a majority of Democratic aid, but passed by a ballot of 286- 134.  , The last voting in the in the Senate was  , 74- 24.
The new budget bill provides funding for a number of government agencies totaling$ 1.2 trillion. The Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and State Department are all in charge of putting our immigration rules into practice.  , However, while the act gives money to these agencies, it does not mandate policy changes that may secure our borders and uphold our immigration rules.  , In truth, it reinforces Biden Administration laws allowing the size control and launch of illegal aliens into , the , state.
Followers of the costs will point out that it includes funding for 22, 000 Border Patrol agents and 41, 500 confinement beds, an increase from 34, 000. But, without policy adjustments, the Border Patrol will most likely be used to process and transfer illegal immigrants, and the detention areas will continue to be used.  , However, that result is almost guaranteed as the bill does nothing to stop the administration’s catch- and- release policies, create the border wall, or stop the abuse of asylum and parole laws. This means business as usual at , the , borders.
Subsidizing Illegal , Immigration
Some of the bill’s biggest line items successfully support illegal immigration, in contrast to deterring it. The State Department receives$ 3.9 billion from the budget bill to assist foreign nations with movement and refugee help.  , The costs further provides , funds to Latin American and Caribbean countries for financial assistance and to handle “irregular migration”, consistent with the , extreme Los Angeles Declaration , to “promot]e ] principles of healthy, peaceful, compassionate, and regular migration”. The bill includes a broad-based exemption for funds going to humanitarian assistance from requirements to combat corruption, human rights violations, and drug trafficking and provides money to support development in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  , That exemption goes so far as explicitly noting that receiving State Department funds does not require , “demonstrable actions to secure national borders and stem mass , migration”.
Other funding provided by the bill provides financial aid to illegal aliens who enter the country. The bill allocates$ 650 million to , the Shelter and Services Program ( SSP),  , operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ), to provide grants to NGOs and sanctuary jurisdictions which facilitate illegal immigration. Another$ 117 million is provided to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program ( EFSP) within FEMA, which in the past has been abused , to provide the same type of grants , for shelter and services for , illegal , aliens.
Additionally, the appropriations bill provides$ 470 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) for the Alternatives to Detention ( ATD ) program. ATD has been used under the Biden Administration to prevent GPS monitoring for illegal aliens checking in via a mobile app. Instead of relying on ATD to let illegal aliens freely travel around the United States, the Biden Administration and its “abolish ICE” allies have been working to completely abolish detention.
Expanding Legal , Immigration
In addition to appropriating money, the funding bill expands two visa programs: the H- 2B program and the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghan , nationals.
H- 2B Program Expansion. Beyond the 66, 000 statutory cap, Secretary Mayorkas is authorized by the appropriations bill to increase the number of H-2B visas available in FY2025. It accomplishes this by allowing the Secretary to include thousands of workers who have previously taken part in the program, also known as “returning workers,” without including those workers against the cap. Last year,  , Mayorkas used a similar exemption to , increase the number , of H- 2B workers by 64, 716 – nearly doubling what Congress intended – making a total of 130, 716 visas available in FY2024. Additionally, the bill changes how wages for H- 2B workers are determined, allowing employers to not only use private wage surveys but also to base the prevailing wage on the geographic area ( rather than the national survey data, which is generally , higher ).
SIVs for Afghan Nationals. The bill also increases the number of special immigrant visas ( SIVs ) available to Afghan nationals, without significantly enhancing the vetting process. Despite the fact that the United States has not been present in Afghanistan since 2021 and the program is slated to expire in December 2024, it makes an additional 12, 000 SIVs available for Afghans in FY2025 – plus family members who do not count against the cap. Many of the Afghans seeking SIVs were illegally paroled into the U. S.  , without proper vetting , after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. Adding to the security risk, in 2022, the State Department and DHS took , the extraordinary step , of waiving certain terrorism- related inadmissibility grounds under INA 212 ( a ) ( 3 ) ( B ) for Afghan nationals, which may apply to SIV , applicants.
Additional Provisions
Unaccompanied Alien Children. No policy changes are made in the bill to stop unaccompanied alien children ( UACs ) from being trafficked or given to unvetted sponsors. The Office of Refugee Resettlement ( ORR ) receives$ 5.4 billion to process UACs and maintains an average of 16, 000 beds for UACs in their care. Additionally, it provides additional funding that is triggered if the number of children who require housing exceeds the available bed space. The bill, however, does not require the agency to improve sponsor screening or increase well-being checks after minors are released to sponsors. Instead, it specifically forbids ICE from using information it may obtain on an alien sponsor for enforcement action unless the sponsor has a charge or felony conviction for some serious crimes.
Earmarks.  , Finally, the appropriations bill contains more than a hundred pages of , earmarks, amounting to billions for pet projects. Members of Congress have the ability to request federal funding for specific projects in their home districts using these earmarks. For example, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand ( D- N. Y. ) were successful in including$ 500, 000 for an immigrant workforce development program, Senator Tammy Baldwin ( D- Wis. ) was able to secure$ 450, 000 for childcare programs specifically for immigrant families, and, in Colorado, Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper got$ 93, 000 for the International Rescue Committee to provide services to immigrants and , refugees.
Other harmful provisions in the appropriations , bill , include:
- $ 160 million in taxpayer funds for U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS), which is typically funded by fees and those seeking benefits, to process asylum applications and , work , authorizations,
- $ 97 million for migrant and seasonal farmworker programs instead of supporting American , jobs,
- $ 15 million for the , Case Management Pilot Program , ( CMPP ) to provide welfare benefits and aid illegal aliens , facing , deportation,
- $ 10 million for the Citizenship and Integration Grant program, which has been routinely awarded to organizations involved in active litigation against , DHS,  , and
- 2- year funding for the Office of Detention , Ombudsman.
Conclusion
Even after the bill was passed, lawmakers continued to debate its value. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La. )  , commended passage , of the appropriations bill but also promised” a series of meaningful bills” to address the border crisis in the coming weeks. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene ( R- Ga. ) meanwhile , took the first steps , to remove him as Speaker, with House Freedom Caucus ( HFC) Chair Bob Good ( R- Va. ) saying,” Frankly, I ca n’t defend the speaker” . , Senate Majority , Leader Chuck Schumer , praised the bill’s passage,  , claiming that” It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan , deal”.
Many Republicans are undoubtedly irritated because Congress has had numerous opportunities to intervene and put an end to the Biden Border Crisis without taking any action. Nearly a year ago, the House passed the FAIR- supported H. R. 2, the , Secure the Border Act, but the Senate has refused to take it up. In addition, Congress has now passed FY2024 funding, four short- term spending bills ( continuing resolutions ), and considered , a foreign aid package,  , all without including any of the critical policy changes from H. R. 2.  , Now, Congress is providing funding to the agencies responsible for enforcing our immigration laws without ending the policies have that created the worst border crisis , in , history.
Americans across the nation are forced to bear the brunt of the Biden Administration’s disastrous border policies in their local communities and daily lives. Rather than taking a stand and fighting for border security, however, Congress opted for the status quo.  , Funding alone wo n’t solve the Biden Administration’s border crisis, and neither will weak bills that reinforce this administration’s open- borders agenda. FAIR will continue to fight for effective immigration laws and borders enforcement in the coming weeks and months.  , It is far past time for Congress to , act.
To learn more about H. R. 2, the , Secure the Border Act, and how you can get involved, visit FAIR’s activist toolkit , here.  , To read more about actions that Biden can take to secure our borders today, click , here.
