Biden Budget Immigration Priorities Differ from Trump’s

Official White House Photo

The Biden administration’s budget proposal, which was announced late last week,  reflect a change in immigration priorities.  The White House unveiled a $1.5 trillion discretionary funding request for fiscal year 2022.

The proposal seeks:

1.  $52 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, roughly the same amount provided in 2021. About $1.2 billion would be reserved for “effective and modern” border security, including plans to revamp ports of entry, expand technology, curtail human and drug smuggling and improve the processing of migrants and asylum-seekers.

2.  $345 million for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in funding to expedite the adjudication of applications for asylum and U.S. citizenship; interview refugees; and modernize agency operations. The administration said the request will also provide funding for programs designed to serve as alternatives to detaining migrant families while their requests for asylum or other forms of relief are reviewed. 

4.  $4.1 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch of the Department Health and Human Services, to  resettle up to 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2022. The State Department, which also plays a major role in refugee resettlement, would receive funds for this effort as well.

“The discretionary request proposes the resources necessary to fulfill the President’s commitment to rebuild the Nation’s badly damaged refugee admissions program and support up to 125,000 admissions in 2022,” the Biden administration wrote in its request to Congress.

The request submitted to Congress does not include any funds for wall or barrier construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The plan calls for unused border wall construction funds allocated in 2021 to be cancelled.

KJ