The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 18, 2006

Fact Sheet: President Requests Funds to Strengthen Border Security

     Fact sheet In Focus: Immigration
     Fact sheet en Español

Today, the President sent Congress a request for $1.948 billion in emergency funding to help secure America's borders. The request includes funding for the first 1,000 of 6,000 new border patrol agents that will be deployed in the next two years and the resources to train them, the temporary deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops to assist the Border Patrol with surveillance and logistics, new border security technology and infrastructure, and 4,000 new detention beds.

Department of Homeland Security: $1.172 billion

Customs and Border Protection & Federal Law Enforcement Training Center: $830 million

Immigration and Customs Enforcement & State and Local Government Assistance: $342 million

National Guard: $756 million

Department of Justice: $20 million. New funding is requested for additional administrative law judges, immigration attorneys, and technical and clerical staff to support the timely disposition of an expected increase in immigration hearings, and new funding for enhanced law enforcement efforts by United States Attorneys along the southern border.

The Request does not increase the cost of the Administration's supplemental request. The President has promised to veto the emergency supplemental bill if it exceeds $92.2 billion for any reason other than for preparations for a possible avian flu pandemic or if it includes non-emergency or wasteful spending. Today's request is consistent with that promise. The funds are fully offset by reductions elsewhere in the Administration's original February supplemental request by delaying certain less-urgent military procurement efforts to future appropriations legislation. There will be no proposed reductions that would impact personnel or operational activities necessary to the War on Terror. Many of these offsets are similar to ones already identified by Congress.

The House And Senate Must Pass A Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill

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