The Trump Administration has asked the Congress for $4.5 billion in immediate emergency funding to address the migration crisis at the US southern border, a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2019) The Trump Administration has asked the Congress for $4.5 billion in immediate emergency funding to address the migration crisis at the US southern border, a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday."Today, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, in a letter to leaders on Capitol Hill requested a supplemental appropriation of $4.5 billion in emergency funding to address the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border," the official said.
The official noted that the Trump administration has repeatedly over the past few months highlighted the need to address the "dire" situation at the border.
"Apprehensions in particular are expected to surpass 1 million by the end of the year, more than double as compared to last year," the official said. "The migration flow and the resulting humanitarian crisis is rapidly overwhelming the ability of the Federal government to respond."
The official explained that the requested funds would largely be used to address the humanitarian needs of migrants.
"It is broken into a few categories - $3.3 billion ... would be directly for humanitarian assistance ... [and] $1.1 billion would be for operations to support, to respond to the crisis at the border," the official said, adding that another $170 million would be allocated for mission support.
The official also confirmed that the requested funds would "not be used to build additional miles of wall on the southwest border."
An increasing number of migrants have been arriving to the US border from Central America in recent months. US President Donald Trump has called the surge of arrivals a crisis and in February declared a national emergency in order to secure funds to build the border wall.
The Trump administration has been making efforts to stop illegal migration into the United States, even threatening to close the southern border or impose tariffs on Mexican cars imported into the United States.
