{"id":11670,"date":"2019-08-27T23:10:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T23:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/27\/homeland-security-raids-coast-guard-money-to-pay-for-border-wall\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:02:20","slug":"homeland-security-raids-coast-guard-money-to-pay-for-border-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/08\/27\/homeland-security-raids-coast-guard-money-to-pay-for-border-wall\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeland Security raids Coast Guard coffers to pay for border programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of Homeland Security is moving $271 million from other agencies such as FEMA<\/a> and the U.S. Coast Guard<\/a> to increase the number of beds for detained immigrants and support its policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news comes as hurricane season is ramping up and Tropical Storm Dorian is heading toward Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sprawling 240,000-person Homeland Security Department includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency<\/a> in addition to immigration agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not uncommon for unassigned funds to be transferred between agencies under the same department as the fiscal year ends. Last year around the same time, about $200 million was transferred, including $10 million from FEMA that prompted major criticism from Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeland Security officials said in a statement Tuesday they would transfer $155 million to create temporary facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border for holding hearings with the aim of moving asylum cases through the system faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has sent more than 30,000 people back to Mexico to wait out their immigration cases in an effort to deter migrants from making a dangerous journey to the U.S. and ease the crush of families from Central America that has vastly strained the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On July 17, three migrants who had managed to evade the Mexican National Guard and cross the Rio Grande onto U.S. territory walk along a border wall set back from the geographical border, in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Christian Chavez\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Asylum seekers generally had been released into the U.S. and allowed to work, but many Trump administration officials believe migrants take advantage of the laws and stop showing up to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawyers for migrants waiting in Mexico have reported major problems reaching clients and getting them to the U.S. for their hearings. And some of the locations in Mexico where migrants are sent are violent and unsafe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money will come out of unobligated money from the base disaster relief fund at FEMA, lawmakers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic House members strongly disagreed and accused DHS of going around their specific appropriations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chairwoman of the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, said the reprogramming would support “inhumane” programs and take away necessary funding for other agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am greatly concerned that during the course of this administration, there has been a growing disconnect between the will of Congress … and the implementation of the Department’s immigration enforcement operations,” she said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said DHS was flouting congressional intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Taking money away from TSA and from FEMA in the middle of hurricane season could have deadly consequences,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t