Lawmaker Blasts Trump Administration For $190M Request To House Migrant Children: ‘Over My Dead Body’
The Democrats have had enough. Earlier this year, the Trump administration made waves on an international scale when it started to separate migrant children from their parents as the families tried to seek asylum in the United States. Since then, and despite a supposed executive order to stop the practice, migrant detention centers have expanded to become home to around 14,000, and U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly requesting more money to continue the imprisonment of these children.
As reported by the Hill, the Trump administration has this time asked for an extra $190 million to continue to house the children in detention camps, according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). On Thursday, DeLauro made very clear where she, and many other representatives in the House, feel about Trump’s use of large sums of money.
“The White House has had the audacity to ask Congress for more money, even though we are done. Over my dead body will we provide another nickel for these folks to do what they’re doing.”
When the new House of Representatives takes their seats at the beginning of January, DeLauro is set to become head of the House Appropriations subcommittee, with jurisdiction over the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
JUST IN: Dem says Trump is requesting an additional $190 million to detain migrant children https://t.co/EnbG3Fc25R pic.twitter.com/M1x3saMp1U
— The Hill (@thehill) December 6, 2018
Aside from having no intention to continue funding the detention of young migrant children, DeLauro also told reporters that she plans to hold the administration accountable for every dime spent on their continued imprisonment so far.
The White House refused to confirm or deny that an additional $190 million had been requested, instead issuing a statement about migrants entering the country illegally.
“Illegal crossings at the border underscore why the President is committed to strong border enforcement to deter illegal immigration. We will continue to work with Congress to provide the necessary funding and resources to secure our borders now.”
Earlier this year, in the HHS appropriations package, the agency was given authority to reallocate more money from other projects to the housing of migrant children, and DeLauro intends to reverse that next year once she is in charge. In total, around $200 million was diverted from causes such as cancer research and HIV/AIDS prevention.
DeLauro, along with other Democrats in the House, has called on the administration to close all the “temporary” tent cities that have been created to house these children, and have only been putting down more and more roots since the order supposedly came to stop detaining them.
“Six months in, $430 million later … the administration is making Tornillo quasi-permanent,” DeLauro said of the tent city in Texas.
